Arrest of Erdogan Rival Causes Lira to Record Low, Bitcoin-Lira Trading Volume on Binance Soars
Trading activity in the BTC/TRY pair on Binance has increased as the incident has caused the lira to fall.
Author: Omkar Godbole | Edited by: Sheldon Reback Updated: Mar 19, 2025 1:10 AM GMT Published: Mar 19, 2025 11:26 AM GMT
What is important to know:
- The Turkish lira has hit a record low against the dollar following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, an opponent of President Erdogan.
- The arrest caused a noticeable increase in trading volumes in the Bitcoin-Lira pair on Binance.
- The lira has remained volatile for a long time, which has increased interest in hard assets and cryptocurrencies.
The Turkish lira (TRY) fell to a record low against the dollar after the surprise arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rival and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The currency fell to almost 41 per US dollar, down 10% in just one day. This volatility led to a sharp increase in trading volumes in the Bitcoin Lira (BTC/TRY) pair on leading crypto exchange Binance.
Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) described the arrest as a coup attempt to overthrow the will of the people. The party had planned to hold a primary election next week, and Imamoglu was expected to be a presidential candidate.
On Binance, the BTC/TRY pair saw a sharp increase in trading volumes between 7:00 and 8:00 UTC, according to TradingView data. It was the highest hourly volume in over a year.
However, given the lira exchange rate, BTC was trading at a large discount compared to Coinbase (COIN) prices.
Traders were likely selling BTC/TRY to convert funds into dollar-pegged assets such as USDT, the largest stablecoin. CoinDesk has reached out to Binance for comment on the matter.
Fiat currency volatility is nothing new in Turkey, and has fueled interest in hard assets like gold and alternative assets including stablecoins and cryptocurrencies over the years. The lira has been systematically devalued since at least 2017, when it was trading at 3.53 to the dollar.
