Erdogan: “Patriotic” Turks. Now Is The Time To “Leave The Dollar” And Buy Turkish Lira 

President Tayyip Erdogan, on Tuesday, told Turks to ditch the dollar and convert their foreign currencies to Turkish lira as an act of “patriotism,” reported Reuters.

“Leave the dollar and the rest. Let’s turn to our money, the Turkish lira. The Turkish lira doesn’t lose value anymore. Let’s show our patriotism like this,” Erdogan told members of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in parliament.

The chart below shows the last several times Erdogan has demanded Turks dump dollars for lira.

Turkey is faced with a historic economic crisis. The Turkish lira has plunged over the last five years, international credit rating agencies have downgraded the country’s debt to junk, and a recession threat remains imminent.

Erdogan’s government published plans for de-dollarizing in July 2019 to build a central bank-issued digital currency.

The digital currency, named the ‘digital lira,’ will be part of a new economic development roadmap from the early 2020s to mid-2025, that will end the country’s dependence on the dollar.

Tests of the digital lira are expected at the end of 2020, and it will allow instantaneous transactions between Turkish citizens and offer decentralized financial instruments for the economy.

Once again Erdogan is demanding Turks to de-dollarize. Shown above, he’s made the call several times over the last five years as the lira has collapsed.

Maybe the lira is headed for another plunge and Erdogan wants Turks to buy the dip? But the call this time to buy the lira is coming ahead of the possible launch of the digital lira.

The latest news from Turkey indicates Russian S-400 missile defense systems are being tested in Ankara, which will certainly outrage the Trump administration and could force Washington to hit Turkey with new economic sanctions. The result would weigh on the currency, so maybe Erdogan is drumming up buying power before the next plunge.