As a researcher with extensive experience studying the Turkish economy and cryptocurrency markets, I have witnessed firsthand the remarkable growth of crypto adoption in this country. The data presented in the article is a testament to this trend, with more than half of the population reportedly invested in crypto and stablecoins and meme coins dominating trading volume.
In recent years, the Turkish cryptocurrency sector has seen substantial expansion. Presently, over fifty percent of the population has reportedly entered the crypto market based on the findings from various polls and surveys.
It’s clear that the Turkish Lira (TRY) is heavily utilized in the crypto world, ranking as the fourth most common fiat currency. The reason behind this widespread adoption of crypto in Turkey can be attributed to several significant economic factors. Consequently, stablecoins and meme coins have gained popularity among Turkish investors, outpacing even Bitcoin‘s appeal.
Stablecoins and Meme Coins Dominate Turkish Trades
Based on Kaiko’s most recent findings, the inflationary climate in Turkey has significantly boosted the popularity of stablecoins. In 2024, the USDT-TRY trading pair emerged as the largest by volume on Binance, exceeding $22 billion, which is more than five times the size of the second largest pair, PEPE-USDT, with a volume of approximately $4 billion.
Significantly, meme tokens have surpassed Bitcoin in trading activity this year. This suggests that investors in Turkey are increasingly seeking out more risky cryptocurrencies as a means to protect their assets from currency instability and potentially profit.
The trend of increasing usage of stablecoins is evident in the most commonly traded Bitcoin pairs on BTCTurk, specifically USDT-BTC and TRY-BTC.
One major factor fueling the increase in cryptocurrency usage in Turkey is the country’s prolonged battle against double-digit inflation and currency depreciation. Over the past five years, the average inflation rate has exceeded 40%. In an attempt to combat this issue, the central bank opted for an unconventional monetary policy by reducing interest rates, extending until June 2023. Unfortunately, this move exacerbated the Turkish Lira’s depreciation, causing it to lose over 300% of its value between the end of 2020 and the end of 2023.
After the 2023 elections, Turkey attempted to stabilize its monetary policy. However, this effort failed to boost confidence in the Turkish Lira (TRY), which continued to depreciate in value during 2024 at a slower pace than before.
Binance Booming in Turkey
In the face of economic difficulties, Binance has solidified its position as one of the top two cryptocurrency trading platforms for Turkish users due to its substantial liquidity and affordable fees. As part of a broad zero-fee initiative, Binance waived transaction fees for BTC-TRY trades from July 2022 through March 2023.
Binance’s extensive selection of over 200 TRY-denominated trading pairs, with numerous additions made aggressively in recent years, has enabled it to maintain its dominance in the market during the 2022 crypto downturn. In 2024 alone, Binance introduced 61 new Turkish Lira trading pairs, significantly expanding its offerings.
Several platforms including Gate.io, KuCoin, and OKX have entered the Turkish cryptocurrency market, yet their collective market share stays under the 1% threshold.
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2024-07-26 15:58