Crypto Emerges as Top Investment Choice for Turkish Investors

A recent survey from Paribu, a Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, reveals a shift in investment preferences among some Turkish investors, with digital assets now favored over traditional options like real estate and stocks.

The “2024 Cryptocurrency Awareness and Perception Survey,” conducted with 2,002 people familiar with cryptocurrency and 541 active crypto traders, sought to assess Turkey’s awareness and perception of digital assets. The findings revealed that, while gold remains the top choice for 56% of investors, 30% now favor crypto, pushing it past real estate, which declined to 26% this year.

Stocks and mutual funds, though growing in interest, remain behind both real estate and crypto.

According to Paribu’s research content manager, Nergis Nurcan Karababa, crypto’s rapid transaction speeds, ease of access, and potential for high returns attract Turkish investors, who see digital assets as a future-ready investment. She noted that institutional interest is further fueling this shift.

While awareness of cryptocurrency is widespread—99% of respondents have heard of it—understanding of blockchain technology remains low, with only 28% of participants aware of its role.

Despite limited public familiarity with blockchain, Karababa points out that people often view crypto as an accessible investment tool, whereas blockchain is seen as complex infrastructure. She attributes this disparity to the niche nature of non-crypto blockchain applications, which are less visible to the general public.