Turkish Lira weakened 44% in the past year, and the currency crisis led to 19-year high inflation of 36% in December 2021. The lira has lost 40% of its value against the dollar since September.
A spike in living costs uses up the whole earnings of a household and causes many citizens in poverty to go in the streets and protest against the government.
For a long time, Turks put their money into U.S. dollars, euros, or gold, yet the rise of crypto-assets in the past few years showed a new way to invest and stay in charge of earned money.
According to WSJ, in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, advertisements for crypto exchanges have begun appearing on public transport, billboards, and in one of the city’s airports. Even shops that sell Bitcoin have popped up by the side of foreign currency and gold exchange places.
Turks have been very fond of the stablecoin tether, which has a value similar to the dollar. The Turkish lira has been the second most traded fiat currency after the U.S. dollar for tether.
“The senseless policies regarding rates, diminishing trust for published statistics regarding inflation and political decisions…made cryptos a safe haven, even though cryptos are rather risky and volatile financial assets,” said Kağan Şenay, a 27-year-old trader from Turkey.
On the Flipside
- Cryptocurrencies have been growing in popularity in countries where citizens distrust governments on a large scale. This includes Lebanon, Venezuela, and many African countries.
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