Turkish lira volatility prompts rotation into crypto, tether - WSJ

While the Turkish lira's recent volatility against the U.S. dollar is almost unbearable, it appears that Turks have abandoned the fiat currency for digital assets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Note that the lira has shed 40% of its value against the U.S. dollar since September due to the ongoing implementation of unorthodox monetary policy in the backdrop of surging inflation. But bitcoin (BTC-USD) currently drifts lower by more than 10% against the USD. Still, "the Turkish lira’s volatility and rising inflation seen in recent months has led our investors to see cryptocurrency as a profitable investment in the long term and as a hedge against inflation in the short term,” Turkish crypto exchange Bitlo Chief Marketing Officer Esra Alpay told the WSJ. In fact, cryptocurrency trading volumes using the lira have climbed to an average of $1.8B a day across three exchanges during Q4 2021, the WSJ reports, citing blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Turks