The Turkish people are embracing cryptocurrencies even as the government bans digital assets. The country’s struggling economy has pushed people into the crypto fold, and the number of Turks getting into the crypto space has been increasing in recent years.
The Turkish Lira Is In Trouble
The crisis facing the Turkish national currency, the Lira, is the single-most potent reason that’s causing the Turkish people to seek alternative ways of safeguarding their wealth. This was as result of the sharp slump of the Lira’s value after the country’s President fired the head of the Turkish central bank in March 2021.
Amid the increasing influx of Turkish money into the crypto space, the government moved to ban the use of cryptos for payment, but that didn’t curb the already-awaked people’s appetite for cryptos. Not even after the collapse of Thodex and Vebitcoin – which were the largest crypto exchanges in the country. The overly negative coverage of cryptos by Turkish media hasn’t made much impact in discourage people from crypto investments.
The Turks Want To Invest
It’s clear that many people in Turkey want to invest their money in viable assets. Forex, Gold, and cryptos make the list of readily available choices, but cryptos seem to have pulled ahead in the recent past. By March last year, Turkish investors were running upwards of 1 million transactions daily. In the past, people were putting their wealth in the USD, a trend that became known as “Dollarization.” Now, people have turned to cryptos. It’s now called “Cryptolization.”
As a matter of fact, cryptos have gotten so popular in Turkey that there’s now a physical location where people can buy them. However, buying directly with the Turkish Lira is still prohibited, but the cryptomania is still lit. One of such locations is NakitCoins, a crypto-related outlet launched by one Cem Yilmaz. According to Yilmaz, a physical location to buy cryptos is meant to help people to be more receptive of cryptos. NakitCoins now has 3 branches in the country since it launched in 2018.
Crypto Community In Turkey Growing Fast
As mentioned, the cryptomania in Turkey has led to the exposure of millions of people to the crypto space and the vast possibilities that come with such investments. Besides NakitCoins, there are other crypto dealers like Paribu. Paribu enables people to buy or sell cryptos in local currency. In 2021 alone, Paribu’s customer base grew from 1.5 million to 5 million. In 2020, the daily transaction volume averaged $20 million. By the close of 2021, it had shot up to $500 million.
Other crypto players/exchanges like Binance and Coinbase also operate in Turkey. As such, the Turkish crypto community is estimated at around 11-14 million people. That’s a significant chuck of the 84 million Turkish population.
Crypto Regulations Being Drafted
The increasing crypto community in the country is a clear indication that neither the government nor the media will stifle the crypto revolution. This is probably the reason why the government is now considering coming up with proper regulations for the crypto industry. Experts are optimistic that these regulations will pave the way for people to buy cryptos directly with the local currency.
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