According to research from the cryptocurrency exchange, the Turkish lira has become the dominant fiat trading pair on Binance in September.
The lira accounted for 75% of the total fiat trading volume at the beginning of September, even though it’s the fourth-largest cryptocurrency market globally in terms of trading volume, following the United States, India, and the United Kingdom.
The surge in lira trading pairs could be connected to the recent influx of cryptocurrency investments in the Turkish market. Binance’s research indicates that 27% of respondents started their cryptocurrency journey as investors within the past year, with 8% of them joining in the last six months.
Most survey participants hold up to $175 (5,000 lira) in cryptocurrencies and have a strong interest in real estate investments. As shown below, profit potential remains one of the most significant reasons why Turks are interested in cryptocurrencies. Ease of monitoring, no minimum threshold, and low transaction costs are still notable motivators for new investors. The inherent risks associated with cryptocurrencies contribute to many Turkish investors’ hesitancy.
Over the past three years, the cryptocurrency adoption rate in Turkey has increased from 16% to 40%, and the country ranks 12th in Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index. Turkey also received humanitarian aid in cryptocurrency following the 2023 earthquake.
While cryptocurrency adoption in Turkey shows no signs of slowing down, the country is reportedly drafting new regulations to manage cryptocurrency assets in an effort to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove it from the “gray list.”
Going back to the time when FATF placed Turkey on the gray list in 2021, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek clarified that Turkey had complied with all but one of the 40 standards set by the supervisory body – the one related to cryptocurrency handling.