The decline of the lira and the limitations on buying dollars and gold using the domestic currency have increased the appeal of USDT among Turkish individuals.
Reports say that some Turks are again interested in the cryptocurrency market, particularly the stablecoin USDT. This comes after their national currency dropped again, and people worried that high inflation could start happening again in their country.Â
The Turkish lira has been going down for a while, but the trend worsened after Recep Erdogan won the presidential race and got another five years as the country’s leader. He is known for being a strong opponent of digital currencies, while his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who got two million fewer votes than Erdogan, favored them.
Turks Turn To Crypto
Bloomberg reports that at the beginning of May, before the presidential elections, people in the Eurasian country turned their attention to USDT, the stable coin with the biggest market capitalization. Even though the elections are over, people are still very interested in them. Erdogan won with 52% of the vote.Â
The falling value of the Turkish lira, which recently hit a record low against the U.S. dollar, could be one reason why more Turks are getting into the bitcoin business. One TRY is worth $0.042 right now, but it was worth about $0.15 at the start of 2020 when the world COVID-19 pandemic began.Â
Some locals who want to keep their money safe in an inflationary setting have turned to USDT as a haven. The asset is always tied to the U.S. dollar, giving Turks a relatively safe and easy way to enter the cryptocurrency market.
On the other hand, officials in Turkey have made it harder to buy dollars and even gold with the lira. This has made crypto more popular. Ebru Güven, who used to be a banker and now teaches at a university, gave more information:
By investing in stablecoins, individuals can preserve the value of their funds, offering a means of retaining some worth amidst significant inflation. Currently, this remains the sole rationale for individuals to acquire stablecoins.
People Reaction
Some Turks have put all their funds into the cryptocurrency market because they are worried about the lira. One example is Batuhan Basoglu, a graphic artist who is 28 years old and who said:
Prior to the election, I felt compelled to convert my Turkish lira into U.S. dollars due to uncertainty surrounding the currency’s future. To safeguard myself against this risk, I opted to purchase Tether.
Kaiko, a company that analyses cryptocurrencies, showed that the number of USDT trades on BtcTurk shot up at the end of May when Erdogan won the presidential race.
An expert at the company, Dessislava Aubert, told Bloomberg that Turks were last so interested in the stablecoin in 2020.Â
She stated that although the trading volumes have been historically low, it is evident that the Turkish market’s demand for stablecoins remains robust.
