Turkey has become leader in cryptocurrency ownership. In recent years, depreciation in local currencies, rise in inflation and problems in foreign exchange markets have made Turkey the leading country in cryptocurrency ownership. Even Argentina, whose inflation was over 100%, fell behind Turkey. The flight to cryptocurrencies in these two countries has been well above the world ownership level.
According to GWI’s data, 27.1 percent crypto asset ownership in Turkey was the highest rate in the world. In Argentina, which has 104.3 percent inflation and a nearly two-fold difference between the official exchange rate and the market dollar exchange rate, the crypto asset ownership rate was 23.5 percent.
Turkey and Argentina’s focus on crypto assets is due to the devaluation of their currencies, high inflation and practices to prevent citizens’ demand for foreign currency. While the Turkish Lira and the Argentine Peso have lost value very rapidly in recent years, the Argentine Peso is at 464 against the dollar on the black market and officially at 222.
The difficulty of accessing traditional investment instruments such as the US dollar or gold, which is perceived as a safe haven, and stablecoins such as USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT), alternative cryptocurrencies fixed to these assets, are also attracting attention.
Kaiko analyst Dessislava Aubert stated that the USDT-/TRY transaction volume reached its highest level in several months last week due to the weakening of the TRY and the impact of the upcoming elections. K33 Research analysts noted that interest in cryptos is higher in countries with capital restrictions and financial and political instability.
Top 15 in crypto ownership
1. Turkey 27.1%
2. Argentina 23.5%
3, Philippines 23.5%
4. Thailand 21.9%
5. Brazil 20.6%
6. Indonesia 20.1%
7. United Arab Emirates 19.6%
8. South Africa 19.0%
9. Vietnam 18.5%
10. Netherlands 17.6%
11. Portugal 17.5%
12. India 16.8%
13. Malaysia 15.6%
14. Singapore 15.3%
15. Mexico 14.8%
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