Turkey is making a lot of media headlines for a wide variety of reasons. Political turmoil in the country has caused the Turkish Lira to decline in value at a rapid pace. Despite this seemingly unappealing market, Huobi is looking to introduce a Lira fiat gateway in the coming weeks. 

It is healthy for any cryptocurrency service provider to continue to expand whenever possible. Whether it is by offering services to new regions or by attracting new users through creative ventures, there is still a lot of work ahead. It will take years, if not decades, until cryptocurrency becomes mainstream in any notable fashion. Onboarding more users by making these markets more accessible is still the biggest problem service providers need to solve in the years ahead. 

For Huobi, the plan of action is relatively straightforward. They want to bring cryptocurrencies to regions where the national currency is struggling a bit. Turkey is as good a market as any to target in this regard. Its national Lira currency has seen significant declines compared to other fiat currencies. That makes it a prime target, as many residents may be looking for other financial assets that could hold their value better. A bit of an odd sentiment, given how volatile cryptocurrencies are these days. 

Given all of the political tension in Turkey throughout most of the year, one would almost forget there are other decisions to be made as well. One interesting aspect is how the government seemingly leans toward regulating cryptocurrencies in a manner that would allow the industry to thrive. The framework has not been finalized yet, but the early signs show some promise.

This move by the Turkish government is not entirely surprising. Recent studies have confirmed plenty of residents in this country already own – or have owned – some sort of cryptocurrency. That goes to show this can be a very prominent region for cryptocurrency adoption, even if just as a speculative tool. For Huobi, it is seemingly a market of interest. They have also allegedly partnered with a Turkish bank partner, albeit no further information has been specified. It remains unclear if other exchanges and trading platforms follow this train of thought at this time. 

Despite some initial market moves, it seems the cryptocurrency industry won’t end 2019 on a high note. Most of the damage caused by the bearish trend of 2018 is still visible today. Even Bitcoin is unable to maintain a five-digit value under the current circumstances, which goes to show the industry is still in a semi-bearish status right now. The expansion of Huobi to Turkey may help move things along a bit, but it will not necessarily be sufficient to turn the ship around. 

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

The post is Turkey the Next Frontier for Cryptocurrency Exchanges? appeared first on NullTX.

189 +