Amid severe inflation and economic instability, bitcoin has reached a new all-time high (ATH) in Turkey, trading at 1,076,038.99 Turkish liras (TRY). The adoption of the cryptocurrency in the country began during the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, making Turkey a major player in the global crypto market. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), described the trend as a “flight to quality,” with citizens seeking alternatives to their rapidly depreciating currency.
The journey to this ATH began with bitcoin‘s surge to its first significant milestone of 479,551.90 TRY (USD1 = TRY28.6844) on April 30, 2021. However, by mid-July 2021, the value dropped to 269,146 TRY, reflecting a temporary recovery of the Turkish Lira against Bitcoin. Since December 2, 2022, when Bitcoin was valued at 315,013.22 TRY, the BTC/TRY pair has experienced significant growth, culminating in today’s record value. This represents a cumulative growth of an astounding 116,185.22%.
Turkey’s current inflation rate stands at a staggering 61.36%, in stark contrast to the U.S. rate of 3.2%. The dire economic situation has led many Turks to turn to bitcoin as an inflation hedge, a trend that is further supported by MicroStrategy’s consistent accumulation of BTC. Although originally designed by Satoshi Nakamoto as a value transfer mechanism, bitcoin has become an increasingly popular investment for those seeking to protect their wealth from inflationary pressures.
