A lesser portion of the stablecoin market is tied to other currencies, despite the dominance of tokens backed by the dollar, such as tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).The Turkish Lira (TRY), one of the world’s most volatile fiat currencies, is now used to back a stablecoin that isn’t tethered to the US dollar.Users can issue and redeem 1 TRYB for 1 TRY using the Ethereum-based TRYB stablecoin from Turkish fintech business BiLira.The stablecoin is fully backed, per the official website, by fiat reserves kept in Turkish banks.
According to Coingecko data, TRYB’s market cap increased by 325% to $136.10 million in just three weeks.With a market cap of $224 million, Tether’s EURt, a stablecoin pegged to the euro, is the second-largest non-USD-pegged stablecoin in the world.The largest stablecoin in the world, dollar-pegged USDT, is likewise supported by tether and has a market valuation of approximately $83 billion.
“Since the Turkish lira price has been very volatile and losing value against the U.S. dollar, the TRYB token is mostly a medium of exchange currency. Our customers have been using the TRYB token as a gateway to exchange their Turkish lira fiat into cryptocurrency and vice versa,” BiLira stated in an email.
The utilization pattern follows the general trend.With the widespread use of stablecoins as the basis currency in cryptocurrency trading pairs, traders can access a stable asset without being affected by the volatility of fiat currencies.
“Stablecoins facilitate trades on crypto exchanges, serve as the underlying asset for many crypto loans, and allow market participants to avoid inefficiencies stemming from converting back to fiat currency for crypto trades,” the U.S. Federal Reserve said in December 2022. “They essentially serve as both a means of payment and store of value for these transactions.” Over 80% of volume on centralized exchanges involves stablecoins, it said.
TRYB appears to be gaining ground in Turkey, although USDT is still in control.The USDT/TRY pair, which is featured on the biggest cryptocurrency exchange with operations in Turkey, BtcTurk, has seen trading volume of $12.3 million over the past day, making up 18% of the exchange’s overall activity.Only $61,700 worth of TRYB trading pairs are currently listed on MECX, Pangolin, and Icrypex.