Turkish citizens, facing high inflation and a plunging currency, are shunning the example set by some foreign public companies that have adopted bitcoin as a store-of-value asset. Instead, they’re flocking to alternative cryptocurrencies like shiba inu (SHIB) and the stablecoin tether (USDT).
Trading volume in the bitcoin-Turkish lira currency pair on crypto exchange Binance totaled $918 million in November, less than a fifth the level of the shiba inu-lira value of $5.26 billion and tether-lira’s $5.58 billion.
“The data shows despite the instability faced by the lira, local traders are still attracted to the exceptional returns associated with coins such as SHIB,” Strahinja Savic, head of data and analytics at Toronto-based crypto platform FRNT Financial, said in an email.
CoinDesk reached out to BTCTurk, one of a handful of local exchanges offering lira-BTC trades for comment, but has not received a response.
In November, the lira crashed nearly 40% against the dollar after the central bank cut interest rates even as inflation topped 20% and the U.S. Federal Reserve began tapering its liquidity-boosting, asset-purchase program. The currency has depreciated 87% this year and is on track to register its ninth straight annual drop.