Bitcoin searches in Turkey spike 566% after Turkish lira drops 14%

Cointelegraph Team Cointelegraph

Searches for Bitcoin emanating from Turkey exploded after news broke regarding the 14% plunge in the value of the Turkish lira.

Google searches for Bitcoin (BTC) emanating from Turkey exploded in the past 24 hours, after the value of the Turkish lira dropped 14% following the firing of a central bank governor.

According to data from Google Trends, the number of searches for Bitcoin spiked 566% in the hours immediately following news of the lira’s demise.

Bitcoin searches from Turkey over 24 hours. Source: Google Trends

The lira’s value dropped 14% in a flash dip after Turkey's President Erdogan fired the governor of the country’s central bank. Former governor Naci Agbal had been credited with pulling the lira out of historic lows, partly by raising interest rates to fight inflation. His abrupt removal was said to have shocked domestic and foreign investors, reports BBC News.

The Turkish lira regained a fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2021 alone. The recent 14% plunge was triggered by concerns that the progress made by Naci Agbal could be undone by the appointment of the new governor, Şahap Kavcıoğlu, a banker and politician who is said to oppose the use of high interest rates to fight inflation.

The uptick in the number of Bitcoin searches by Turkish citizens is an all-time high to date, representing almost double the number of searches recorded during the bull run of 2017–2018.

It’s not just Turkish citizens who are taking a refreshed look at cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of March, Turkey’s Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced that it would work with the central bank in conjunction with regulatory bodies in order to lay down clear guidelines concerning the use of crypto.

“We share the rising concerns about crypto with the rest of the world. The developments (on crypto around the world) and the state of crypto in Turkey are closely monitored by our ministry,” announced the ministry at the time.

Author

Cointelegraph Team

Cointelegraph

We are privileged enough to work with the best and brightest in Bitcoin.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is. Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).

Sberbank issues Russia's first corporate loan backed by Bitcoin

Russia's largest bank Sberbank launched the country's first Bitcoin-backed corporate loan to miner Intelion Data. The pilot deal uses cryptocurrency as collateral through Sberbank's proprietary Rutoken custody solution.

Bitcoin recovers to $87,000 as retail optimism offsets steady ETF outflows

Bitcoin (BTC) trades above $88,000 at press time on Tuesday, following a rejection at $90,000 the previous day. Institutional support remains mixed amid steady outflow from US spot BTC Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Strategy Inc.’s acquisition of 1,229 BTC last week.