Turkey's Unexpected Rise to the Top of Global Crypto Adopters

When thinking of countries that are ahead of the curve in crypto adoption, Turkey might not be the first place that springs to mind.

Statistica's Global Consumer Survey for 2019 shows that a fifth Turkish residents are acquainted with crypto and have been exposed to it in some form or another.

Flying under the radar, Turkey has undoubtedly become a crypto giant, and with President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an recently announcing that testing of the digital lira is to be finalized in 2020, crypto is destined to become even more popular.

Observing the rapid rise of crypto and blockchain in the country, Cointelgraph has unveiled the Turkish edition of the outlet this year.

The same survey showed that 56% of Turks had used mobile payment apps in contrast with the Eurpoean consumers' average of 33%. The online payment sector in Turkey had been ready to adopt crypto, but the first opportunity only came when PayPal was banned in the country following the rejection of its license by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.

Back in August 2014, Cointelegraph interviewed the founder of QuazarCoin, who goes by the name Orhan, about the state of crypto in Turkey.

"When compared to other countries which include Argentina or countries with collapsed infrastructure such as Venezuela, the situation of Turkey is much more different, and better. Bitcoin is highlighted in these countries as a protection from devaluation and as a way to carry the money abroad. In Turkey, it provides an alternative to investors who use dollar but look for profit; but it's not as common as other countries for sure."

Coupled with poor political relations with the U.S. and an impending debt crisis, high inflation and low interest rates, it was a perfect storm for an already tech-ready country to adopt crypto.

The correlation of economically affected countries and high crypto adoption can be seen elsewhere across the global - such as Venezuela, Iran and Zimbabwe - giving credence to the theory of Hyperbitcoinization.

"When a country go through an economic crisis it causes the investors to seek new channels and untroubled markets. In addition to this the fluctuating exchange rate gives way to new investment tools. In Turkey, the crypto money and the other digital assets were accepted as a new means of investment thanks to the population that can easily adapt to new technologies. If you pay attention to the local surveys, crypto money owners plan the digital assets as long term investments as well as actively making transactions."