As a way of dealing with any capital controls or as a safe investment haven if inflation accelerates or if the value of the currency falls further against the increase in bond yields worldwide “pushes” Turks to both Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Indeed, some analysts argue that an impending monetary crisis will accelerate the adoption of cryptocurrency in the country.
Internet searches related to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed after the dismissal of the central banker and the slump of the Turkish Lira.
According to Google Trends, searches with the word Bitcoin doubled. It is recalled that the Turkish Lira sank to 7.94 Lira per dollar, making losses of 15%, following the new decision by Turkey’s president, Tayyip Erdogan, to take down the central bank governor, Naji Agbal, just 4.5 months after it was placed.
In the shadow of the collapse of the Turkish lira, the main index of the Turkish stock market was down -6%, with trading suspended for a few minutes.
The removal of Agbal was like a lightning bolt in the air for the investment community, as it happened by presidential decree early Saturday, March 20, 2021.
Transactions of EUR 25 billion Dollars
As data from Chainalysis shows, in the February-March two months, the value of Bitcoin-related transactions approached EUR 25 billion. USD, compared with less than EUR 1 billion in the previous year. in the same period of 2020.
Although Bitcoin does not offer the security of gold, the dollar, and real estate, the monetary crisis seems to have changed the data.
Under the shadow of the collapse of the Turkish lira, Turks are using cryptocurrencies, not just to buy real-estate, IT services, and cigarettes online, but to save their wealth on the incoming mega inflation.
