The government of Turkey banned cryptocurrency as a form of payment in that country, effective April 30, and it’s a mildly troubling trend for bitcoin investors.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey cited, among other specifics, problems with “supervision mechanisms” and “central authority regulation” for crypto assets.
“It is considered that their use (crypto assets) in payments may cause non-recoverable losses for the parties to the transactions due to the above-listed factors, and they include elements that may undermine the confidence in methods and instruments used currently in payments,” the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey said in a press release titled the “Regulation on the Disuse of Crypto Assets in Payments.”
Bitcoin fell on Friday, dropping from $63,000 to $60,700 over a 24-hour period, though it had rallied to $61,648 by early afternoon ET.
In a coindesk.com story, speculation was that this is not a good sign for those hopeful of bitcoin’s expansion – along with other primary cryptocurrencies. Struggling countries continue to seek ways to protect their currencies, and Morocco already has a similar ban, with India expected follow suit.
Last month, billionaire investor Ray Dalio referenced this possibility.
“Every country treasures its monopoly on controlling the supply and demand,” he said via Yahoo Finance. “They don’t want other monies to be operating or competing, because things can get out of control.”
From coindesk.com: “Citizens of countries facing high inflation and fiat currency crises, such as Turkey, have turned to bitcoin in the past few years, raising hopes of widespread adoption across the globe. Turkey’s inflation topped 16% last week, and its currency, the lira, has depreciated by 10% this year, having dropped by 24% in 2020. The country sold almost 11.7 million tons of gold in February, as reported by Arab News.”
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