Bitcoin Price Hits 7-Month High Against Turkish Lira

Turkey's economic crisis looks to have boosted bitcoin's appeal as a safe-haven asset, pushing it to seven-month highs against the lira.

AccessTimeIconAug 13, 2018 at 3:20 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 8:16 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Bitcoin (BTC) jumped to seven-month highs against Turkey's national currency, the lira (TRY), on Monday.

The price spike comes after the U.S. imposed sanctions against Turkey on Friday for continuing to hold an American pastor in custody.

The resultant economic shock-wave has seen the lira drop to a new lifetime low of 7.20 TRY against the U.S. dollar today, after already having dropped 27 percent last week. On a year-to-date basis, the lira is down more than 80 percent against the greenback.

The crash in the lira looks very likely to be increasing bitcoin's proposition as a safe-haven asset in Turkey, and the price of the cryptocurrency shot up to 47,192 TRY earlier today – the highest level since January 21, according to Bitfinex data. At press time, the figure had dropped slightly to around 44,000 TRY.

Since August 8, BTC has appreciated against the lira by 31 percent and is also up by 67 percent from the June 24 low of 26,337 TRY. By comparison, the cryptocurrency's U.S. dollar-denominated exchange rate is up just 12 percent from its low of $5,755 seen on June 24.

BTC/TRY chart

download-12-4

So what's behind the sudden appeal of bitcoin for Turkish investors?

The sharp slide in the lira has already pushed up inflation, which, along with a slump in spending power for TRY holders, has certainly boosted bitcoin's appeal as a store of value.

The increased interest is evident from the fact that Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges Paribu, Btcturk, and Koinim have witnessed a spike in trading volumes since Friday. As of writing, Paribu is reporting a 100 percent rise in trading volumes for the BTC/TRY trading pair.

Looking forward, BTC could well rise further against the lira, as Turkey's President Erdogan continues to oppose interest rate hikes to stabilize the currency and, rather than backing down, has referred to the President Trump's decision to impose sanctions on Turkish steel and aluminum as an "attack" on its economy.

Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.

Turkish lira and bitcoin image via Shutterstock; Charts by Trading View

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.