High Stakes in the Bazaar

Cryptocurrency Trading as a Game of Chance in Istanbul

Authors

  • Wesam Adel Hassan University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs189

Keywords:

cryptocurrency, gambling, Turkey, trading, Islam

Abstract

This article examines cryptocurrency trading in Turkey, focusing on the ‘gamblification’ of this emerging market. Based on 18 months of ethnographic research (2021-2022) conducted during an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the research reveals how Turks engaged with cryptocurrencies are considering the structural parallels between trading and gambling. The article also incorporates the perspective of Turkey's Directorate for Religious Affairs (Diyanet), which has declared cryptocurrency trading impermissible, highlighting the tension between contemporary financial practices and traditional Islamic frameworks. The article links the perception of cryptocurrency trading as a modern game of chance, as articulated by research participants, to Turkey's economic instability and their technological shift from traditional state-regulated games of chance (lotteries, betting on sports, and horse racing) to cryptocurrency trading. My ethnographic method brings new empirical data and qualitative analysis to understand the cultural and religious dynamics shaping this emergent financial phenomenon in the under-studied context of Turkey. I argue that cryptocurrency adoption in Turkey is driven by more than economic necessity; it reflects a cultural transformation valuing modernity and innovation. Many Turks view cryptocurrency as a viable alternative to traditional financial systems and a representation of the future of money. This shift signifies a departure from conventional monetary practices and reflects a collective idealisation of the future of finance. The article thus illuminates how Turkish individuals navigate risk and speculation during economic crises, demonstrating their adaptability in engaging with non-monetary financial markets.

Author Biography

Wesam Adel Hassan, University of Oxford

Wesam Hassan is an anthropologist and a physician by training, whose work lies at the intersection of medical and economic anthropology. She is currently an LSE Fellow in Anthropology. Wesam completed her DPhil in Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford, where she explored the moral economy of gambling and cryptocurrency trading, examining the entangled dynamics of risk-taking and class-making against the backdrop of the recent Turkish economic crisis and currency devaluation. Her research engages with concepts of uncertainty, speculation, gambling, future thinking, and risk. Currently, she focuses on economic uncertainty and speculation. Previously, she investigated biomedical uncertainty by examining the governance of HIV-positive subjectivities and the associated biopolitics in Egypt.

Wesam has led multiple ethnographic studies on material culture and consumption habits across Iran, Egypt, London, and Turkey. These include exploring womanhood and cleaning rituals in Iran, online gambling and betting cultures in London, and perceptions and usages of the Internet of Things and smart home technologies in Egypt.

Before transitioning fully into academia, Wesam worked as a public health specialist and researcher with United Nations agencies, Johns Hopkins University, and international NGOs. Her work focused on the intersectionality of HIV and AIDS, gender, harm reduction, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

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Published

2025-03-23

How to Cite

Hassan, W. A. (2025). High Stakes in the Bazaar: Cryptocurrency Trading as a Game of Chance in Istanbul . Critical Gambling Studies, 5(2), 60–79. https://doi.org/10.29173/cgs189

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2024): Open Issue

Section

Original Research Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Wesam Adel Hassan

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