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.