In a striking turn of events, the Turkish lira (TRY) has achieved a historic milestone in the cryptocurrency market. Amidst the lira’s depreciation and heightened foreign exchange volatility, its crypto volume market share has soared to unprecedented levels.
TRY Surpasses Euro in Crypto Volume
According to a recent report by the crypto research platform Kaiko, the Turkish lira’s crypto volume market share surged past the euro (EUR) to become the third-largest fiat currency by volume. This increase was driven by Turkey’s soaring inflation, which has exceeded 70%, positioning the lira among the worst-performing fiat currencies globally.
Kaiko’s analysis revealed that in early June, TRY’s crypto volume market share reached an all-time high of 19%. High inflation and foreign exchange volatility, common drivers of crypto adoption in developing markets, have significantly contributed to this trend. The volatility has been exacerbated by the record number of elections in 2024 and divergent monetary policies.
Global Currency Comparisons Amid High Inflation
Since April, several major currencies have experienced significant fluctuations. The British pound (GBP) rallied to its highest level against the EUR in two years. Conversely, the Japanese yen (JPY) fell to a 30-year low against the U.S. dollar (USD), and the Mexican peso (MXN) weakened to its lowest point since October 2023. These currencies share common challenges of high inflation and significant devaluation of purchasing power.
Bitcoin Achieves New Heights Against Turkish Lira
The depreciation of the Turkish lira has propelled Bitcoin (BTC) to new all-time highs against the currency in recent months. In October 2023, while BTC was valued at $34,000, it reached an unprecedented 979,000 TRY. By February, BTC had surged to 1.6 million TRY as it climbed above $50,000, driven by strong demand from U.S. investment products.
In March, BTC hit another peak against the lira, exceeding 2.3 million TRY. As of now, data from TradingView shows a slight decline to 2.24 million TRY. This surge in BTC value reflects the broader trend of increased cryptocurrency adoption in response to the lira’s devaluation.
Kaiko also highlighted that the rising share of TRY crypto volume is partly due to Binance’s recent loss of banking partners, which led to the delisting of GBP and Australian dollar trading pairs on the platform. This shift has further boosted TRY’s share in overall fiat trade volumes.
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