The cryptocurrency markets in Turkey have collapsed. At least four operational cryptocurrency exchanges in the country have gone offline. It started with Turkey’s leading exchange, Thodex disappearing last week. Currently, the country’s Justice Ministry is seeking help from Interpol to nab the accused.
Thodex exchange owners have allegedly been absconding with approximately $2 billion in crypto assets of Turkish investors. As a part of the ongoing investigations, once the crackdown on Turkish cryptocurrency exchanges gained momentum, at least four other exchanges have disappeared into thin air citing liquidity issues. Reportedly, there are over 40 cryptocurrency exchanges with 5 million active users in Turkey.
Lira’s Woes Continue
Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in Turkey because of the shrinking Lira. The inflation rate in the country is at an all-time high. In the past week Lira has fell by over 12% against the US dollar. The government authorities are cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges after the Central Bank banned the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method.
As a part of the ongoing crackdown, the Turkish authorities have frozen the accounts of the crypto trading platform Verbitcoin. Verbitcoin on its website said that they have been facing financial issues due to the authoritative crackdown. Another exchange Goldexco asked investors to contact them through email for refunds and blamed the government’s anti-crypto stand for the current crisis.
In the meanwhile, the Turkish government is planning to further regulate digital tokens. It wouldn’t be surprising if Erdogan’s regime brings in sanctions for cryptocurrency uses.
