Can stablecoins like USDT replace bank savings in Nigeria?

[DonaldCryptoTalk1]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

[Frankolala]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

USDT is pegged to fiat USD which means that they're the same in value. If you keep your funds in USDT and you need it right away, you can convert it in an exchange and sell it via p2p trade into your bank account. It does not take up to 30 minutes. You can also choose have a domiciliary account and save in USD. Stablecoin is centralized and been controlled.

[DonaldCryptoTalk1]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

USDT is pegged to fiat USD which means that they're the same in value. If you keep your funds in USDT and you need it right away, you can convert it in an exchange and sell it via p2p trade into your bank account. It does not take up to 30 minutes. You can also choose have a domiciliary account and save in USD. Stablecoin is centralized and been controlled.

That’s a good point. The ease of converting USDT to naira through P2P is one of the reasons why many Nigerians prefer it over bank savings. But like you mentioned, the centralized nature of stablecoins is something people often overlook. If the issuer freezes an address or regulators put pressure on exchanges, access could be restricted.

On the other hand, a domiciliary account in USD is safer from that angle, but it comes with banking restrictions, extra charges, and paperwork that discourage many young people. So maybe the better approach is balance keeping some in USDT for quick access and some in banks for security. That way you don’t depend on just one system.

[Gozie51]

There are certain issues or complications that will make most Nigerians not prefer Usdt hodling against fiat irrespective of its depreciation from inflation.

1. People that are still traditional in their financial dealings would still see it as inconvenience to convert Usdt to fiat before use.

2. Opening and using of crypto wallet is not something they want to do especially some business people that still holds on to old ways of running their business.

3. They will see the $1 fee as high compared to how much bank charge but not cognizant that inflation is reducing the value of their fiat in the bank.

Generally, Nigerians are not quick to change except their is a legislation that is forcing them to acclimatize, otherwise they will remain in their status quo. So it will not be easy for Usdt to take over fiat hodling in Nigeria. But for people who are digital asset savvy, it is surely the best to hedge against inflation.

[Mayor of ogba]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

People who are inclined with the crypto world can only save their money in USDT so that they won't be affected by depreciation of "Naira," but stablecoin like USDT can't replace bank savings in Nigeria because we are yet to have massive adoption of USDT in Nigeria, and since we use Naira as a medium of exchange in Nigeria, people will always prefer saving their money in Naira than in USDT.

[Charles-Tim]

Some people are doing business in naira. They may invest in stocks and other things but they still have huge amount of money in their business and which is more about naira. A good example is Dangote and other business men. Even down to people in the lower category in towns.

Another thing is that crypto is not a legal tender in Nigeria. Which means crypto is not acceptable for payment. Go to almost everywhere in Nigeria, naira is used for paying for goods and services.

[sokani]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

No matter the number of Nigerians wey embrace crypto, e no get how stablecoin go replace the Nigerian naira because nah awa national currency and identity and we need am to use pay for goods and services.

About safety, regulations, and accessibility of stablecoins. All of dem dey accessible and the centralized ones like USDT and USDC dey regulated. Their issuers (Tether and Circle respectively) get license to issue dis coins, dem also get reserves and dey comply with AML laws. So you no get anything to worry if you want hold stablecoins, just hold the popular ones.

[BIT-BENDER]

It is all about individual preferences. For many Nigerians saving in Naira is now seem as a serious financial mistake and now people are finding other ways to saving their funds, buying lands or real estate properties is very popular now in Nigeria and many people are interested in it also some people do have domiciliary account where they can saving in foreign currency. But I see stable coin as a popular future alternative but for now it's widely used by Crypto-currency enthusiasts in the country.

[Jubilee58]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

USDT is pegged to fiat USD which means that they're the same in value. If you keep your funds in USDT and you need it right away, you can convert it in an exchange and sell it via p2p trade into your bank account. It does not take up to 30 minutes. You can also choose have a domiciliary account and save in USD. Stablecoin is centralized and been controlled.

Of a truth saving your money in USDT is a good idea, looking at the way naira is depreciating in value , when you save in stable coin the value of your money is preserved. Even in the banks this days , especially when you are using their application, their is a provision to save your money in dollar and it can be converted to naira at anytime.

[Bright0515]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

The funny thing is that USDT is not even stable as you think, if anything happens to US economy USDT will depreciate. Even if you keep your money as USD, or you eat earning in dollars, the moment you convert your USDT to naira you will understand that things have increased because of inflation. People that earn in dollar are very happy but they do not know that what #50,000k can buy when naira was valuable, now that it's no longer valuable that same #50,000k can no longer afford it.

[Karl_3000]

3. They will see the $1 fee as high compared to how much bank charge but not cognizant that inflation is reducing the value of their fiat in the bank.

You can send USDT and USDC with small amount of money on some networks. It can be as low as $0.01 to $0 on some networks.

But stable coins can not replace our naira, it is not feasible in Nigeria with what that is happening.

[Cryptoprincess101]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

keeping your money is stablecoins like USDT can only be valuable when the naira is depreciating but for now that the naira have been able to gain strength in the past few months, keeping your money in USDT is just a waste of time and it won't make any sense because imagine if you kept some USDT when the price was around 1700 per dollar, now the price is around 1500 per dollar so if you needed to sell your USDT to get naira in order to use the money to buy things for the festive season you will see that you have run some losses. The dangers of keeping funds in exchanges is another thing to look at if you want to keep money on exchanges you risk losing your money because any day that exchange is hacked your money will be gone.

[Zigabel]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

The funny thing is that USDT is not even stable as you think, if anything happens to US economy USDT will depreciate. Even if you keep your money as USD, or you eat earning in dollars, the moment you convert your USDT to naira you will understand that things have increased because of inflation. People that earn in dollar are very happy but they do not know that what #50,000k can buy when naira was valuable, now that it's no longer valuable that same #50,000k can no longer afford it.

Most persons do not understand the dynamic of the USDT and so they just want to presume that they just think that because it is a way of saving in dollars its just the best without having to consider that there are some merits and demerits of holding the USDT as a way of saving. just like Naira, there are times when rates does crash and that affects the value of USDT so it is not always guaranteed that you are going to get an absolute value increase for the money you saved in USDT, you only get the advantage of a slight increase in the face of inflation and it is mostly not above 5%-8% because no country would want to allow their economy suffer such level of inflation just at a go although cumulatively it can go beyond that but not at a go.

[Out of mind]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

If you do not want to keep your savings in the bank due to fear of inflation and charges, then it will be beneficial to keep it in stablecoins. If you collect USDT, then there will be no profit or loss here, but you will get back what you keep later. You can easily sell it for Naira through P2P, which is very easy to do, you can take it directly to your bank account through the exchange. So I think if you do not want to save money in the bank, then keep USDT in your bank, your money will be safe here. However, you also have to accept that the same price is not always set on P2P, the price of USDT often increases and decreases.

[Gozie51]

3. They will see the $1 fee as high compared to how much bank charge but not cognizant that inflation is reducing the value of their fiat in the bank.

You can send USDT and USDC with small amount of money on some networks. It can be as low as $0.01 to $0 on some networks.

But stable coins can not replace our naira, it is not feasible in Nigeria with what that is happening.

Sure. There are some platforms and blockchain that is cheaper but the point is that it is selected unlike fiat where the Naira is a general currency and for central use, it charges also uniform. So that is what will become major challenge to use usdt. Not many user will be patient to register with different platform because they want a cheaper rate in their crypto transaction. Whichever way we look at it, the charges will be higher than using fiat if you convert the charge in USD to Naira.

[Sarah Jordan]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

I don't see saving in USDT as a good option when I can buy bitcoin and hold it so the price can appreciate and i make money. USDT does not appreciate in price so holding it is like you are holding fiat and can be better than holding naira because of the inflation that is affecting Nigeria local currency.

Bitcoin will make me money while still holding@ than USDT that has stable price. Bitcoin should be the one to replace local currency not stable coin.

[Agbamoni]

Stablecoins cant replace the bank system in general. Crypto enthusiast may see reason why saving in crypto is better than saving in bank but there are many who still have their savings in bank. See OP, when you are rich you will know the importance of traditional banking system. The bank saving system, only favors the rich, because they can take huge loans with collateral, and when they keep massive amount in the bank they get higher interest on a daily basis.

Another reason why the bank system cannot be replaced by stablecoins is because, you will need the traditionally banking system when you want to convert your stablecoins to fiat.

[TokenTikas]

I don't see saving in USDT as a good option when I can buy bitcoin and hold it so the price can appreciate and i make money. USDT does not appreciate in price so holding it is like you are holding fiat and can be better than holding naira because of the inflation that is affecting Nigeria local currency.

Bitcoin will make me money while still holding@ than USDT that has stable price. Bitcoin should be the one to replace local currency not stable coin.

You are right bro, If we earn money by doing something with the money we earn and we can earn profit from it then why would we save that money as USDT? I never save the money that is left after spending it on my family. We know very well that it is better to do something than to save the money that is left after our needs. Since we are moving forward with modernity at the moment, investing in bitcoin is the best option.

Those who understand the current situation will never save their USDT. It is better to do something than to save USDT and expect something good from it and if you expect profit by investing in the most stable long-term investment, I think investing in bitcoin is the best option.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

Then Nigeria government will have to develop a stable coin to be used in the financial sector to escape from inflation. Remember, no government of any country will ever adore to any crypto based assets that's not developed by them, rather they can integrate and launch a new stablecoin for example call it UNGN, where every Nigerian citizen will have to convert their funds to UNGN when market goes red.

[Powerjumboo]

With the way inflation and bank charges are eating into people’s money, some Nigerians are now keeping their savings in stablecoins instead of bank accounts. Unlike Bitcoin, USDT doesn’t rise or fall much, it just mirrors the dollar, so it protects against naira depreciation. But then questions come up, can stablecoins really replace the role of banks? What about safety, regulations, and accessibility when someone needs cash quickly?

People are now ready to get something simply, people are not ready to get something complicated. There is no dumping and pumping of USDT stable coins due to which people are now trying to hold USDT. Most of the people who are currently involved in cryptocurrency do not like bank transactions, moreover, banks are not very safe for people at present, due to which people do not like to transact or deposit money in banks. USDT can be deposited in an exchange, and if the amount is large for a specific time or for a year, then it can be staking, where a fairly good profit will also come. Moreover, if you wish, your USDT can be converted into local currency by p2p in a very short time.