Blum, a pioneering trading platform that seamlessly integrates decentralized (DEX) and centralized (CEX) exchanges, serving 91 million users worldwide, recently held IstanBlum, a high-profile event aimed at fostering collaboration and driving innovation within the market. During the event, Blum revealed its strategic plans to strengthen its presence in Turkey.
The IstanBlum event, co-hosted with Bitget, took place on February 27, 2025, at Kastel, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. The event attracted over 400 attendees and received strong support from partners, including Star Riser, Terminal, SimpleSwap.io, LazyCoin, and EvoSim Game.
Vlad Smerkis, Blum’s co-founder and CMO, emphasized the company’s commitment to the Turkish market, stating: “Turkey is not just a market for Blum; it’s a key focus for our growth. We are building a local team, forging strong relationships with Turkish creators, and collaborating with successful projects in the memecoin space through our Memepad. This marks our second event in Istanbul, following a successful gathering in 2024. Our mission is to continue engaging with the Turkish community, hire local talent, and localize our app in a way that resonates with Turkish users—not just by adding language options, but by launching targeted local campaigns. The Turkish market is incredibly dynamic, and we want to deliver an intuitive, on-chain crypto trading experience tailored to the needs of local users.”
At IstanBlum, Blum highlighted its recent achievements like multi-chain Trading Bot, which is currently the largest on the TON blockchain ( based on the users’ statistics) and has recently made its debut on Solana. The trading bot now allows users to deposit Solana and trade Solana-based tokens, providing an expanded range of trading options. The event also showcased Blum’s upcoming AI-powered Memepad, perpetual futures trading capabilities, and plans for expanding its ecosystem.
Eser Karlik, Senior Marketing Manager MENA, commented: “Events organized in the crypto ecosystem were usually just evenings where influencers spent time together. IstanBlum, organized by Blum and Bitget, was completely focused on the community. We believe that the value of the event, which brought together more than 400 real crypto enthusiasts, increased even more. Sharing accurate information about blockchain and crypto assets through the coming together of communities is always our focus.”
Blum, a leader in decentralized trading, is continuously pushing the boundaries of innovation. The company has secured $5 million in pre-seed and seed funding, led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, and supported by investors such as YZi Labs, Spartan Capital, No Limit Holdings, OKX Ventures, TOP.co, Bitscale Capital, and Wintermute Ventures. These funds will accelerate the development of advanced trading solutions.
Blum extends its gratitude to its partners and the Turkish community for their continued support in reshaping the decentralized finance landscape and driving blockchain innovation forward.