Some residents of Turkey have reportedly revived their interest in the cryptocurrency market, more specifically in the stablecoin USDT, following a new decline in their national currency and fears that severe inflation could start looming again across the country. 

The downtrend of the Turkish lira (which has been evident in the past few years) intensified shortly after Recep Erdogan won the presidential elections, securing himself another five years as the political leader. He is known as a fierce critic of digital currencies, whereas his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu (who collected two million votes less than Erdogan) shared pro-crypto views.

Turks Turn to Crypto

According to recent Bloomberg coverage, residents of the Eurasian country have shifted their focus towards the largest stablecoin by market capitalization – USDT – at the beginning of May, ahead of the presidential elections. The interest has remained high even after their completion, which saw Erdogan win by getting 52% of the votes. 

One possible factor pushing the people of Turkey toward the cryptocurrency industry could be the depreciating national currency that recently hit a record low against the American dollar. Currently, 1 TRY equals $0.042, whereas it was worth approximately $0.15 at the beginning of 2020 (at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic). 

USDT has turned into a safe haven for some locals who try to preserve their wealth amid the worrying inflationary environment. The asset maintains a consistent peg with the US dollar, and it provides a relatively safe and simple way in which Turks can join the crypto sector.