Turkish Crypto Market Reacts to Mayor İmamoğluS Arrest
The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has sent ripples through Turkey’s financial markets. The political move has led to a surge in crypto trading.
İmamoğlu, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, was detained on terrorism charges. This sparked a massive drop in the turkish lira.The lira hit a new low,causing investors to seek safer assets like cryptocurrencies.
On Binance, the USDT/TRY trading pair experienced its highest volatility since April 2024. Traders rushed to crypto, pushing USDT/TRY volatility up by 6.4%. Binance’s data shows this is the highest since last April. The lira’s value plummeted, hitting an all-time low. People turned to crypto to protect their money.BtcTurk and Paribu, major local exchanges, saw daily volumes rise by 23.4% and 18.8%,respectively. The lira’s fall drove many to buy stablecoins like USDT. The lira’s decline reflects growing economic fears. The BIST 100 index fell nearly 6%, its worst day since 2023.
The turkish central bank tried to stabilize the lira by selling between $5 billion and $10 billion in foreign reserves. This intervention may calm short-term volatility but raises concerns about the country’s reserve sustainability.
Following İmamoğlu’s arrest, social media platforms faced widespread outages. NetBlocks confirmed restrictions on X, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The move was criticized as a “blatant misuse of the justice system” by Human Rights
