Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now focused on bringing down his country’s soaring inflation. At the same time, Turkish citizens want to avoid the devaluation of their savings. The standard of living has been deteriorating in Turkey despite positive economic data, provided by the government. Moreover, many people have almost lost their savings amid the lira’s record collapse.
In the current situation, cryptocurrency trading has recently boomed in popularity in Turkey. Despite the official ban of using cryptocurrency for payment, now more Turkish citizens are investing in cryptocurrency in the face of the lira’s significant depreciation and rampant inflation. They turn to cryptocurrency as it is the only way to preserve their savings against currency devaluation.
According to Chainalysis, Turkey now has the highest crypto transactions volumes in the Middle East. In 2021, volumes increased by 1,500% compared with 2020. Similar trends are observed in many countries with sluggish economies and authoritarian regimes, such as Africa, Russia, and Latin America.
"Looking forward, we expect crypto adoption to increase in Turkey as uncertainty surrounds inflation of the lira," chief of staff at CryptoCompare Alissa Ostrove said. The popularity of cryptocurrency is growing as Turkish citizens begin to lose trust in the national currency. Turkey’s annual inflation jumped to 36.08% in 2021. Besides, the lira has lost more than half of its value. Independent experts believe Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s monetary policy is the reason for it.
