TL;DR Breakdown
- Turks turn to Bitcoin as inflation rages.
- Bitcoin searches skyrocket.
Amid the economic crisis in Turkey, Bitcoin has become a haven for the Turks. This came after president Erdogan Tayyip sacked the central bank governor, Naci Agbal last week resulting in about a 15% crash of the Lira. Following the event, the number of Bitcoin searches on google coming from Turkey has spiked by over 500%.
Turks adopt Bitcoin amid inflation
Unlike the president, Naci was a proponent of a high-interest rate to contain the hyperinflation in the country. Investors had credited Naci for the improved condition of the Lira when he raised the interest rate to 19%. According to analyst Edward Al-Hussainy, the current Lira crash will cause many Turkish investors to sell off their assets.
Based on a Turkish news outlet, Tilbe Yardim, who is a resident, immediately converted her Lira to crypto following the ousting of Naci. Investors are grieved by the current situation of the country, reveals Yardim. After the president fired the central bank governor, the Turkish Lira crashed by about 0.02 against the U.S. dollar.
Bitcoin searches in Turkey rises amid Lira crash
The data from Google Trends reveals that the number of Bitcoin searches coming from Turkey surged by 566% following Lira’s crash news. Based on the data, this value is the all-time high for BTC searches on the internet. Turkey residents are now using BTC to hedge against the devaluation of the Lira.
The current value decline of the Lira has accelerated the demand for BTC and other cryptocurrencies Due to the rise in crypto adoption in Turkey, the price of Bitcoin on P2P networks has surged to about $100,000.
If Lira should crash further, it may force more Turks to run to BTC, hence driving broader adoption of crypto in the country. While Turkey has no clear regulatory framework for crypto yet, the Finance Ministry said it would collaborate with regulatory authorities to regulate the industry.
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