Turkey: Crypto Becomes Ultra-Trendy as Lira Falls

Turkey is currently undergoing mass cryptocurrency adoption. This is despite little regulatory framework for these assets. The demand for digital assets has grown in Turkey amidst a financial crisis.

Global cryptocurrency exchange  KuCoin have conducted a survey of Turks, with some interesting findings.

Survey findings

-The Turkish lira has lost nearly 50% of its value. Consumers are turning to alternative investments. While the U.S. dollar and gold remain solid options, demand for cryptocurrencies is rising.

-Cryptocurrencies have become trendy to most Turkish nationals for the first time. New traders are exploring what the technology offers.

-25% of Turkish traders have been trading crypto assets for over a year.

-There is no gender divide. Turkish women are nearly as well-represented as men when it comes to trading and investing in crypto. 47% of investors are women and 63% of the crypto-curious are women.

-Turks over the age of 40 are more interested in cryptocurrencies, according to a survey by a major Turkish bank.

-Stablecoins and metaverse tokens have caught the attention of Turkish traders. Bloktopia was the third-most traded asset on KuCoin in Turkey last year. Verasity is also popular.

Inflation is currently running wild in Turkey, and Turkish lira has lost nearly 50% of its value. This probably explains the fact that 40% of the internet population aged 18-60 own crypto or have traded them in the past 6 months. 59% of crypto investors plan to buy more in the next 6 months.

Turkish residents who invest in cryptocurrencies are focused on:

-Stablecoins

-Derivatives

-Metaverse projects

Turkey and stablecoins

According to Kucoin, “The demand for stablecoins makes sense, as it provides U.S. Dollar exposure in digital format through Tether’s USDT. Additionally, USDT is a very liquid asset supported by almost every trading platform worldwide and is used in spot and futures trading too. Furthermore, derivatives – futures and options – are essential risk management tools when dealing with volatile assets.”

Kucoin also said that metaverse projects are a hot trend globally, and Turkey is no exception. “Although these assets can see extreme volatility in this early stage of metaverse development, investors show a growing interest in trading project tokens.”

Here are some other findings.

70% of Turkey’s respondents said that security and stability matter when trading.

66% of respondents said that fiat deposits and withdrawal convenience is important.

User Interface is important to 65% of respondents.

63% of traders want a variety of tradable coins.

55% of users think transaction liquidity is important.

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