• Stablecoins have been found to be beneficial for countries going through economic turmoil.
• Turks and Russians sought refuge in USDT to limit their losses due to soaring inflation and the short-lived Wagner rebellion.
• USDT hit a 56% market share on BtcTurk PRO, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Turkey, during the last week of May.
Beneficial Stablecoins During Financial Instability
Stablecoins are beneficial for countries going through financial instabilities. A look at the situations in Russia and Turkey further strengthens this statement. One can observe not just the bankable aspect of digital assets but a general shift in sentiment towards cryptocurrencies as people seek refuge from economic hardships.
Turkey Embraces USDT
The Turkish lira (TRY) experienced a significant downtrend over the past few years compounded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox policies on interest rates. This reignited the interest for cryptos, especially stablecoins like Tether [USDT]. As per crypto market data provider Kaiko, USDT hit a 56% market share on BtcTurk PRO, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Turkey, during the last week of May with its dominance continuing as it was the most active trading pair in last 24 hours accounting for 18% of total volume.
Russia’s Refuges
Russia also saw an uprising against Putin’s authority led by private military contractors called Wagner mercenaries last week causing concern about further rise in inflation and reigniting peoples‘ interest for cryptos including stablecoin Tether [USDT]. Its liquidity was such that it was third-largest tradable digital asset with a market cap of more than $83 billion according to CoinMarketCap data and had trading volume of $23.9 billion over 24 hours which was more than Bitcoin [BTC].
Shift In Sentiment Towards Cryptocurrencies
It is clear that people are turning towards cryptocurrencies due to their convenience when undergoing financial crisis or political strife as conventional methods like commercial banks or online forex services could take time to convert their savings into safe-haven assets like US dollar which stablecoins provide access too without delays or extra costs incurred due to exchange rate conversion fees.
Conclusion
Overall it is evident that stablecoins have become beneficial tools during times of economic instability as both Turkey and Russia saw an increase in demand for them recently when faced with various crises they were going through respectively.