Key Highlights:
- Crypto exchanges make cash promises as a kind of support.
- To facilitate relief, Turkish officials are encouraged to create official crypto wallets.
About the earthquake
Support from the crypto industry is booming in the wake of a terrible earthquake that has so far claimed over 1,700 lives and leveled portions of Turkey and Syria. Several crypto exchanges have already started putting together charity packages for those impacted.
On February 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey’s Kahramanmaras Province was followed by a second, even more, powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake around noon, as well as dozens of smaller tremors that were felt throughout the two neighboring nations and elsewhere.
Who are all supporting?
Gate.io, Bybit, Bitmex, and Bitfinex are some crypto exchanges that have stated that they are looking for ways to provide support or have begun putting together relief packages. Huobi Global has given 2 million Turkish Lira, while crypto exchange BitGet has already pledged 1 million (about $53,000).
With millions of money flooding into Ukraine during the Russian invasion last year and COVID-19 aid to India as it battled a terrible outbreak in 2021, the crypto community, in general, is fast to respond to humanitarian catastrophes.
Turkey and the Crypto market
Turkey is the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest cryptocurrency market. MENA was the region that stood out for posting the highest year-over-year (YoY) rise in crypto transaction volume among all other regions in 2022.
According to Finbold’s study on October 21, Turkey rose to the 12th spot among all nations in Chainanalysis’s 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, with a YoY growth in crypto transaction volume of 10.5%, as its citizens received $192 billion in cryptocurrency from July 2021 to June 2022.
