Turkey bans the use of cryptocurrencies for payments
Bitcoin price plummeted after news spread about Turkey's ban on payments for cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin, BTC, rose in recent hours to new highs and was fluctuating between $ 62,500 and $ 63,200, but it has now retreated to the level of $ 61,600.
The decline is largely due to the Turkish Central Bank's ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that were used as a form of payment for goods and services in Turkey.
The ban notice was published early in the day by the Turkish Central Bank.
Bitcoin fell 2% to nearly $ 61,600 shortly after the announcement.
According to the ban announcement, bitcoin may cause irreparable potential damage.
The Turkish Central Bank has also indicated that transactions involving cryptocurrencies are characterized by high risk.
The new legislation will take effect on April 30th.
Cryptocurrencies were in the midst of a boom in Turkey, as inflation weakened the value of the Turkish lira.
The Turkish lira reached near its historical lows last month, in conjunction with a significant rise in Google searches in Turkey for Bitcoin.
Turkey accounts for a large proportion of the use of cryptocurrencies in the Middle East.
Turkey ranks 29th out of 154 countries in the global digital currency adoption index and first in the Middle East, according to Chainalysis.
In the Turkey-based digital currency trading platform “BTCTurk”, the most common trading transaction is the Lira versus Bitcoin.
The Chainalysis report noted:
The Turkish lira has been very volatile in recent years, which has led some to convert part of their savings into cryptocurrency.
The report also showed that pre-existing reliance on fintech and mobile payment platforms was higher in Turkey than elsewhere in the region and that if a sound regulatory framework was adopted, this would likely lead to more adoption of cryptocurrencies.
A nation of 82 million sees its currency crash 15% in a single day.
— Alex Gladstein (@gladstein) March 21, 2021
No coincidence that Turkey has some of the highest per-capita Bitcoin usage in the world.
A growing number of Turks are peacefully choosing a different monetary system that their oppressors can’t control. https://t.co/BD0bl7URic
The Turkish authorities surprised the cryptocurrency community with a tighter stance towards the cryptocurrency industry, unlike other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates.
Last March, a worker in the Turkish cryptocurrency industry told that concerns about capital controls could eventually lead ordinary citizens to look for alternatives that do not include regular bank accounts.
Like India and many other countries that have tried to ban cryptocurrencies before, Turkey may want to reconsider its somewhat strict movement.