Despite facing a decline of 50% from its peak in U.S. dollar terms, bitcoin has achieved record highs against the Turkish lira and Nigerian naira.
The recent surge in Bitcoin's value has seen it surpass previous benchmarks, trading at 960,000 lira and 27.4 million naira respectively, marking an impressive 30% monthly gain when measured in local currency.
CoinGecko data reveals that local cryptocurrency exchanges in these regions have witnessed a combined trading volume of $40 million in bitcoin over the last day. This figure might not account for residents trading on international platforms like Binance or Coinbase.
Both the Nigerian naira and Turkish lira have faced significant devaluation against the U.S. dollar in recent times.
The naira has depreciated by 0.45% in the last month and by 45% in the previous half-year, while the lira has witnessed a 2.9% drop in the past month and 31% in the last six months.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted concerning inflation figures, with Nigeria seeing a 25% rise since 2022 and Turkey experiencing a sharp 51% increase. This inflation surge has notably reduced the purchasing power of both currencies, potentially fueling the increased demand for bitcoin as an alternative to traditional fiat currencies.
In terms of cryptocurrency adoption, both Turkey and Nigeria have displayed significant enthusiasm.
A recent study by Chainalysis in September ranked Nigeria as the second-most active nation in decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency trading, following India. Turkey secured the twelfth spot out of twenty countries analyzed.
The global crypto community has been abuzz recently, with expectations of a potential U.S. approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) generating excitement.
This anticipation contributed to a 20% weekly boost in bitcoin's value and an unprecedented surge in options activity. The market also saw noticeable volatility, with bitcoin's price briefly reaching $35,000 after speculations around BlackRock’s proposed bitcoin ETF stirred investor sentiment.
