Nigerian remote workers prefer to be paid in stablecoins

A hedge against inflation

Amid concerns over the depreciation of the Naira and the need to protect their income from inflation, a notable trend has emerged: many Nigerian workers now prefer to receive their salaries in stablecoins rather than in Naira.

While the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported rising interest in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) adoption, stablecoins remain the preferred choice for many due to the opportunity it offers against the unstable Nigerian economy in terms of inflation.

Stablecoins have become a critical tool for Nigerians to mitigate inflation, save money on remittance fees, and also make e-commerce purchases with USDT powered virtual cards. The most popular stablecoin is USDT, which is pegged to the US dollar and widely used by Nigerians to maintain the value of their earnings.

For real-time updates on the Naira to USDT conversion, many turn to resources like our Naira-USDT rate page.

Moreover, according to Google search trends result, Nigerians majorly search for USDT in terms of its conversion to TON coin, which is widely used in playing Telegram mini games in the region.

Despite the rising use of stablecoins, not everyone agrees on the scale of the trend. A recent tweet by @qwqiao claimed that 60-70% of Nigerians prefer to be paid in stablecoins, sparking a debate online.

Harri Obi, while acknowledging that the number is exaggerated, explains that, “The number is exaggerated, but stablecoins are popular and have found PMF (Product-Market Fit) in unstable economies like Nigeria.”

Although reactions to the tweet indicate some scepticism, it’s clear that stablecoins are playing a significant role in Nigeria’s economy, offering workers a way to preserve the value of their earnings amidst economic instability.