Turkey’s President Expected To Swallow Bitcoin’s Red Pill After Meeting With El Salvador’s Bukele ⋆ ZyCrypto

• El Salvador’s leader recently met with the Turkish President. 
• Amid talks of cooperation and investment, it is likely that the issue of Bitcoin might later be broached by Turkey’s government. 
• A landmark Turkish crypto legislation is on the horizon for the European nation.

El Salvador’s government revealed president Nayib Bukele paid a visit to Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan during the week. The visit was geared towards increasing cooperation amongst the countries and investment in El Salvador.

Will Turkey Adopt Bitcoin?

President Nayib Bukele’s engagement with his Turkish counterpart is expected to bring about a potential Bitcoin adoption for the European country. The itinerary of the Salvadoran President saw him meet with leaders of industries and pay homage to the European nation’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, at his monument.

The El Salvador government, in their official statement, said that Bukele will attempt to “strengthen relations with the country and seek cooperation and investment opportunities.” In the statement, it was recalled that in the past year, Turkey had played a role in helping El Salvador fight the deadly pandemic.

“In 2021, the Turkish Cooperation Agency facilitated the online training module ‘Methods to combat COVID-19,’ which benefited 35 doctors and representatives of the health sector in El Salvador. El Salvador has also explored opportunities for Turkish companies to invest in El Salvador, specifically in the energy and tourism sectors.” 

It is important to note that Turkey has been battling with a surge in inflation over the last year, which saw the Lira lose about half of its value against the dollar. So far, the authorities responsible for fiscal policies in the country have struggled to wrestle the rates down, with Erdogan shutting down any talks of raising rates.

It will be no surprise if Bukele engages the Turkish President in conversation around El Salvador’s famous Bitcoin adoption, as Bukele noted in a tweet some weeks back that El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin has the potential to change their economic fortunes.

At the moment, Turkey’s stance on crypto remains unclear. It should be noted that the country, for now, has restricted crypto payments but does not stop people from holding cryptocurrency and digital assets. 

Turkey’s Crypto Law Is Ready

Just less than a month ago, Erdogan had disclosed that Turkey’s cryptocurrency law was set for deliberation by the country’s parliament. The new law is expected by pundits to totally revise the country’s current crypto policies.

Erdogan disclosed this in a news conference, adding that the goal of this new legislation would be to enable the lawful use of cryptocurrencies. This proclamation came as a surprise, considering the country’s precedents with the nascent market under the current administration.

Turkish citizens during the recent economic downturn and Lira devaluation have largely turned to crypto as a store of value. As a result, there has been a spike in crypto transactions in the country, especially with Bitcoin and stablecoins pegged to the US dollar leading the charge.