RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Tuesday, falling by 1.23 percent to $46,696 at 2:39 p.m. Riyadh time.
Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at at $3,827, down by 0.17 percent, according to data from Coindesk.
Turkey & Stablecoins
Turkey's economy remains in turmoil with inflation rising to 36 percent, and since this time last year, the country's currency has lost 44 percent of its value against the US dollar.
This has led to increased use of stablecoins in the country, as 28.96 percent of all trades with tether are paired against the Turkish lira.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that derives its value from some underlying external asset, like the U.S. dollar or the price of gold.
The year 2021 showed that the demand for bitcoin in Turkey has increased significantly.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s demand for stablecoins is much greater than traditional crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ether.
The data showed that the stablecoin tether’s (USDT) largest fiat trading pair is Turkish Lira with 29.42 percent of USDT swaps, according to Bitcoin.com.
South Korea
The Democratic Party of Korea, the country's leading political force, will collect election funds through cryptocurrencies and issue receipts to donors in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Korean media reported on Sunday.
The funds will be used to finance the campaign of the party’s presidential nominee, Lee Jae-myung.
Bitcoin, Ethereum and three other cryptocurrencies are now under study, the final list of coins to be accepted will be announced in mid-January, according to the Korean Herald and the Yonhap news agency.
The NFTs will feature photos of the candidate and his election pledges to those who donate to the fundraising campaign for the presidential vote on March 9.
The tokens are expected to serve as a new medium for communication with younger voters, especially the generation of digital natives, Bitcoin.com reported.
"As the young generation in their 20s and 30s are interested in emerging technologies, including virtual assets, NFTs and the metaverse, this type of fundraising could appeal to them," Campaign official Kim Nam-kook said.
