Tales from the crypto: lira crisis fuels Bitcoin boom in Turkey

theguardian.com:

In the offices of AltCoin, a cryptocurrency hub tucked away in a sidestreet in Istanbul’s bustling Kadıköy neighbourhood, two wall-mounted TV sets showed the live value of currencies bitcoin and Ethereum, both graphs sloping downwards.

AltCoin’s all-male inhabitants were not worried – in the chaotic world of cryptocurrency, their fortunes could soon change.

“A lot of people come here, some are rich, some are poor. But the target is always getting rich – although a lot of people think that if they invest a hundred dollars, they will get a million,” said one founder of AltCoin known only as Shark, who pointedly added that he has trademarked his nickname.

“Other people come here to take their first lessons in the technical side of crypto, and then start to trade,” he said.

AltCoin was founded to teach Turkish citizens about how to invest in cryptocurrencies, which provide a digital, decentralised alternative to the mainstream financial system.

Cryptocurrency trading has boomed in popularity in Turkey during a financial crisis that halved the value of the lira last year, while inflation recently surged above 30%, a two-decade high.

While most Turkish citizens looking to avoid the devaluation of their savings in lira tend to reinvest in dollars or gold, an increasing number of younger investors see cryptocurrencies as the way forward.

This has drawn the ire of the government, particularly President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who declared that “we are in a war against Bitcoin” and recently unveiled a programme to encourage Turkish citizens to switch their savings to lira and stash the cash in the banks.

To cryptocurrency believers, the increasing lack of trust in government solutions is proof that digital currencies are the best