Now Istanbul is, perhaps, one of the main transit points – and not only – for those who fled from Russia and Belarus, just like a hundred years ago, when, after the Russian revolution, emigrants on their way to Paris or Berlin almost without fail turned over in Constantinople.
And then, and now, the most pressing problem for those who ended up in Turkey is to get cash: Ivan Bunin, Alexander Vertinsky and others who fled from Bolshevik Russia brought and sold jewelry, weapons and furs. For many current expats, cryptocurrencies are the only working asset.
We tell you why it happened, how it is most profitable – and safe – to cash out cryptocurrency in Istanbul and other cities, as well as how things are with the crypto industry in Turkey.
From Financial Isolation to Financial Literacy
After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of people left Russia and Belarus, going to Istanbul, where it was easiest to get tickets, albeit much more expensive. There they found themselves in financial isolation: Vladimir Putin banned the export of more than $10,000 abroad (in Belarus, such a ban has been in effect for a long time), and Visa and Mastercard stopped servicing Russian bank cards. Since March 26, the Western Union system has stopped all transfers from the Russian Federation and Belarus.
You can open an account in a Turkish bank, but there is no clear algorithm – somewhere they require a Turkish TIN, somewhere they immediately deposit $ 2,000, and somewhere they simply refuse, referring to “prohibitions from above” to open accounts for non-residents of the country.
Salvation for some who fled to Turkey turned out to be the Mir card, with which you can withdraw money in several other countries. However, most of those who fled from Russia do not have it, and its virtual version – which, for example, Tinkoff Bank offers to do directly in the application – turned out to be meaningless in Turkey: payment is almost not accepted anywhere, and local ATMs do not support contactless cash withdrawals. To be fair, Tinkoff also promises to deliver a physical card abroad within 20 days – quite a convenient option for those who cannot withdraw old savings or money from an emergency sale of real estate (besides, Tinkoff can open an account in Tinkoff directly in the application). lira).
However, the prospect of twenty days without money for food and housing and the vague future of the Mir payment system, and indeed of all Russian banks in general, led to the fact that people with close to zero technological literacy had to turn to cryptocurrencies. For those who had no idea what a crypto wallet is and where to get it, and at the word “cryptocurrency” they remembered either terrorists or tiktokers. With the expectation of including such neophytes, we will outline the procedure.
From rubles on the card to cash lira
The first thing that people who left Russia and Belarus without cash in Turkey face is the need to convert rubles into a cryptocurrency, namely Tether (USDT), the most popular cryptocurrency in Turkey. The easiest and fastest way is to find an exchanger on the exchange, for example, bestchangewhere also accept rubles, and dollars, and the Ukrainian hryvnia. A proven exchanger with a good exchange rate for those who need to transfer a small amount in rubles (from 20,000) is transfer24. The operator in the support chat will guide you through all the steps, and the operation will take about 15 minutes.
Then the most stressful thing begins – a trip to the exchangers. There are about two dozen of them for the whole of Istanbul, but it’s good if at least a third of them are shown on Google maps. The main center of crypto exchange, predictably, is the Grand Bazaar.
Located in the historic center in the Fatih district, the huge market is visited by an average of 300,000 people a day. Most of the money changers are concentrated on the east side of the bazaar, along with bank branches and regular money changers.
Most crypto exchanges in Istanbul buy either bitcoin or USDT, sell from $1000 with a commission of 3%. But there are a few more democratic ones. The most famous is Nakitcoins, the first crypto exchange in Turkey, which has already grown to several points in Istanbul (in addition to the one at the Grand Bazaar, there are branches on the other side of the city near Taksim Square) and even released its own online wallet: you can buy from them from $50 with 3% commission.
Another is KAZBITOK, a Kazakhstan-based crypto exchange that opened an Istanbul office in January (also near the bazaar, opposite the Column of Constantine). Here the conditions are the same as for Nakitcoins, but they also speak Russian and change USDT not only on the basis of Tron, but also on Ethereum.
The most remarkable of the local exchanges is hiding at the beginning of that crypto lane in the Grand Bazaar behind the BTL sign. In a tiny room about a meter and a half, only one employee speaks English, she buys USDT TRC-20 (on Tron) for any amount and without commission. This office does not have a website or social networks, but judging by the manager’s business card, the company specializes mainly in precious metals. When asked why they do not take a commission even when cashing out more than $1,000, she refused to answer. Despite the most opaque, unlike others, structure, the exchanger does its job – however, due to the incessant flow of visitors to Istanbul, it is likely that BTL will also have a commission. You can exchange dollars received in exchangers for liras there at the Grand Bazaar – the main thing is not to go to the first place that comes across, but pay attention to the rate, which varies greatly from exchanger to exchanger.
From currency crisis to crypto boom
Turkey is experiencing an unprecedented interest in cryptocurrencies. Here they open courses on blockchain for housewives and pensioners, the Turkish national basketball team advertises the local Bitci blockchain platform, and on TV news, along with the dollar and the euro, they indicate the rates of bitcoin and Ethereum.
All this despite the fact that President Erdogan declared nothing less than “war on bitcoin” last spring and forbade paying for goods and services with cryptocurrencies, essentially placing them in a rather uncertain legal environment. This happened against the backdrop of a protracted financial crisis, during which the lira depreciated significantly, and annual inflation reached 30%.
According to the analytical companies Chainalysis and Kaiko, in December last year, the number of cryptocurrency transactions in Turkey exceeded 1 million per day. Polls show that one in five Turkish citizens have used cryptocurrencies.
Istanbul became the center of the crypto boom. But this is not the only cryptohub in the country: there are exchangers in Ankara and Alanya, however, the commission there starts from 5% and above (in this sense, you can consult with the same KAZBITOK who have partners in southern Turkey).
In resort towns, Russian-speaking emigrants offer exchange with a commission and 10% in local city telegram chats. Sometimes there are even curious places – for example, in Kas, a tiny city 180 km southwest of Antalya, where the number of Russian-speaking “tourists” has increased about four times over the past month, the Old Towm Hotel has the opportunity to pay for a room with cryptocurrency. When asked if he was so openly afraid of breaking the law, its owner said that not too much, and the main thing for him was to somehow help emigrants who found themselves unable to pay for housing. By the way, he can also cash out cryptocurrency in lira at 3%.
As often happens in regimes with a bias towards authoritarianism, in Turkey the war with progress has not yet moved beyond the announcement. This year the local parliament will discuss a cryptocurrency regulation law that many local blockchain enthusiasts fear could truly criminalize crypto operations in the country.
However, as an employee of one of the Istanbul exchangers said, in times of crisis, cryptocurrencies become the only haven of stability, escaping from which is worse than staying in it:
“We have already understood that it is impossible to trust only the state and its currency, soon this will be understood in Russia.”
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Now Istanbul is, perhaps, one of the main transit points – and not only – for those who fled from Russia and Belarus, just like a hundred years ago, when, after the Russian revolution, emigrants on their way to Paris or Berlin almost without fail turned over in Constantinople.
And then, and now, the most pressing problem for those who ended up in Turkey is to get cash: Ivan Bunin, Alexander Vertinsky and others who fled from Bolshevik Russia brought and sold jewelry, weapons and furs. For many current expats, cryptocurrencies are the only working asset.
We tell you why it happened, how it is most profitable – and safe – to cash out cryptocurrency in Istanbul and other cities, as well as how things are with the crypto industry in Turkey.
From Financial Isolation to Financial Literacy
After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of people left Russia and Belarus, going to Istanbul, where it was easiest to get tickets, albeit much more expensive. There they found themselves in financial isolation: Vladimir Putin banned the export of more than $10,000 abroad (in Belarus, such a ban has been in effect for a long time), and Visa and Mastercard stopped servicing Russian bank cards. Since March 26, the Western Union system has stopped all transfers from the Russian Federation and Belarus.
You can open an account in a Turkish bank, but there is no clear algorithm – somewhere they require a Turkish TIN, somewhere they immediately deposit $ 2,000, and somewhere they simply refuse, referring to “prohibitions from above” to open accounts for non-residents of the country.
Salvation for some who fled to Turkey turned out to be the Mir card, with which you can withdraw money in several other countries. However, most of those who fled from Russia do not have it, and its virtual version – which, for example, Tinkoff Bank offers to do directly in the application – turned out to be meaningless in Turkey: payment is almost not accepted anywhere, and local ATMs do not support contactless cash withdrawals. To be fair, Tinkoff also promises to deliver a physical card abroad within 20 days – quite a convenient option for those who cannot withdraw old savings or money from an emergency sale of real estate (besides, Tinkoff can open an account in Tinkoff directly in the application). lira).
However, the prospect of twenty days without money for food and housing and the vague future of the Mir payment system, and indeed of all Russian banks in general, led to the fact that people with close to zero technological literacy had to turn to cryptocurrencies. For those who had no idea what a crypto wallet is and where to get it, and at the word “cryptocurrency” they remembered either terrorists or tiktokers. With the expectation of including such neophytes, we will outline the procedure.
From rubles on the card to cash lira
The first thing that people who left Russia and Belarus without cash in Turkey face is the need to convert rubles into a cryptocurrency, namely Tether (USDT), the most popular cryptocurrency in Turkey. The easiest and fastest way is to find an exchanger on the exchange, for example, bestchangewhere also accept rubles, and dollars, and the Ukrainian hryvnia. A proven exchanger with a good exchange rate for those who need to transfer a small amount in rubles (from 20,000) is transfer24. The operator in the support chat will guide you through all the steps, and the operation will take about 15 minutes.
Then the most stressful thing begins – a trip to the exchangers. There are about two dozen of them for the whole of Istanbul, but it’s good if at least a third of them are shown on Google maps. The main center of crypto exchange, predictably, is the Grand Bazaar.
Located in the historic center in the Fatih district, the huge market is visited by an average of 300,000 people a day. Most of the money changers are concentrated on the east side of the bazaar, along with bank branches and regular money changers.
Most crypto exchanges in Istanbul buy either bitcoin or USDT, sell from $1000 with a commission of 3%. But there are a few more democratic ones. The most famous is Nakitcoins, the first crypto exchange in Turkey, which has already grown to several points in Istanbul (in addition to the one at the Grand Bazaar, there are branches on the other side of the city near Taksim Square) and even released its own online wallet: you can buy from them from $50 with 3% commission.
Another is KAZBITOK, a Kazakhstan-based crypto exchange that opened an Istanbul office in January (also near the bazaar, opposite the Column of Constantine). Here the conditions are the same as for Nakitcoins, but they also speak Russian and change USDT not only on the basis of Tron, but also on Ethereum.
The most remarkable of the local exchanges is hiding at the beginning of that crypto lane in the Grand Bazaar behind the BTL sign. In a tiny room about a meter and a half, only one employee speaks English, she buys USDT TRC-20 (on Tron) for any amount and without commission. This office does not have a website or social networks, but judging by the manager’s business card, the company specializes mainly in precious metals. When asked why they do not take a commission even when cashing out more than $1,000, she refused to answer. Despite the most opaque, unlike others, structure, the exchanger does its job – however, due to the incessant flow of visitors to Istanbul, it is likely that BTL will also have a commission. You can exchange dollars received in exchangers for liras there at the Grand Bazaar – the main thing is not to go to the first place that comes across, but pay attention to the rate, which varies greatly from exchanger to exchanger.
From currency crisis to crypto boom
Turkey is experiencing an unprecedented interest in cryptocurrencies. Here they open courses on blockchain for housewives and pensioners, the Turkish national basketball team advertises the local Bitci blockchain platform, and on TV news, along with the dollar and the euro, they indicate the rates of bitcoin and Ethereum.
All this despite the fact that President Erdogan declared nothing less than “war on bitcoin” last spring and forbade paying for goods and services with cryptocurrencies, essentially placing them in a rather uncertain legal environment. This happened against the backdrop of a protracted financial crisis, during which the lira depreciated significantly, and annual inflation reached 30%.
According to the analytical companies Chainalysis and Kaiko, in December last year, the number of cryptocurrency transactions in Turkey exceeded 1 million per day. Polls show that one in five Turkish citizens have used cryptocurrencies.
Istanbul became the center of the crypto boom. But this is not the only cryptohub in the country: there are exchangers in Ankara and Alanya, however, the commission there starts from 5% and above (in this sense, you can consult with the same KAZBITOK who have partners in southern Turkey).
In resort towns, Russian-speaking emigrants offer exchange with a commission and 10% in local city telegram chats. Sometimes there are even curious places – for example, in Kas, a tiny city 180 km southwest of Antalya, where the number of Russian-speaking “tourists” has increased about four times over the past month, the Old Towm Hotel has the opportunity to pay for a room with cryptocurrency. When asked if he was so openly afraid of breaking the law, its owner said that not too much, and the main thing for him was to somehow help emigrants who found themselves unable to pay for housing. By the way, he can also cash out cryptocurrency in lira at 3%.
As often happens in regimes with a bias towards authoritarianism, in Turkey the war with progress has not yet moved beyond the announcement. This year the local parliament will discuss a cryptocurrency regulation law that many local blockchain enthusiasts fear could truly criminalize crypto operations in the country.
However, as an employee of one of the Istanbul exchangers said, in times of crisis, cryptocurrencies become the only haven of stability, escaping from which is worse than staying in it:
“We have already understood that it is impossible to trust only the state and its currency, soon this will be understood in Russia.”
Subscribe to Cryplogger news in Telegram: Cryplogger Feed – the entire news feed, Cryplogger — the most important news, infographics and opinions.
Found a mistake in the text? Select it and press CTRL+ENTER
