While many consider investing in crypto to hedge against currency inflation, some skip the volatility for stablecoins’ stability.

Stablecoins are dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies like USDT, USDC, BUSD, etc., offering the benefits of crypto without the volatility risk.

While these coins do not promise a 10x moonshot, they offer the means for Nigerians to save in dollars.

Furthermore, platforms like Dtunes.ng allow quick cash-to-crypto conversion, without paperwork or forex queues.

Why Nigerians Are Holding Stablecoins

Nigerians have found a new affinity for stablecoins, and the reasons are rooted in the country’s harsh economic realities.

The Naira has lost significant value since 2023, as the Naira to dollar rate has risen from N388 to N1550. Amid this, the price for day-to-day goods has more than doubled, while salaries and Naira savings have remained stagnant.

For many, stablecoins have become useful as modern-day digital savings accounts. Besides, stablecoins are more accessible dollar currency to many Nigerians compared to dorm accounts or foreign exchange from financial institutions.

With platforms like Dtunes.ng, you can easily log in to the app and have your stablecoins in USDT or USDC in minutes.

What The Experts Are Saying

A Chainalysis report from October 2024 highlights Nigeria as a top global player in the crypto market. According to the report, Nigeria ranked second worldwide in the Global Adoption Index, with African countries like Ethiopia (26), Kenya (26), and South Africa (30) also making the top 30.

This report further highlighted the growing need for accessible financial services, hedge against inflation, payments for business, and retail-sized transfers as key drivers of this increasing adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chainalysis reported that stablecoins accounted for 43% of the region’s total transaction volume between July 2023 and June 2024. 

Furthermore, the report recognized Nigeria’s role as a major player, highlighting the naira devaluation fueling stablecoin usage.

Nigeria reportedly processed approximately $59 billion in crypto transactions during the monitored timeframe. 85% of those transactions are under $1 million, indicating a solid presence of smaller retail and professional transactions.

On the ground, Nigerian freelancers, traders, and tech-savvy savers have prioritized the stability of stablecoins over speculation on other crypto assets. Considering recent economic realities, experts believe stablecoins might be the smartest hold for Nigerians.

Both Sides of The Stablecoin

Stablecoins offer the preferred middle ground for Nigerians who do not want to save in Naira, and do not want exposure to the price fluctuations of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The key benefit of stablecoins is their stability.

Pegged 1:1 to the dollar unlocks global utility and preserves your purchasing power while the local currency slides. 

Amid the forex scarcity in Nigeria over the past years, stablecoins offer much more liquidity as platforms like Dtunes.ng let you sell within minutes.

Beyond that, there are multiple opportunities for passive earnings on stablecoins. Some crypto wallets and DeFi platforms offer up to 5 – 10% APY on stablecoins, allowing you to put your money to work.

Download Dtunes app here

However, there are two sides to a coin, so let’s discuss potential limitations or risks to stablecoins.

Stablecoins come with a centralization concern as opposed to many other cryptocurrencies. Private companies issue stablecoins like USDT and USDC and this means they can blacklisted, frozen, or restricted based on internal policies or external pressure from authorities.

While they still offer the same privacy as cryptocurrency, this highlights a major misconception for many new stablecoin users. 

Also, these centralization elements pose a counterparty risk for stablecoin holders, like most financial companies do. Your funds could be affected if the issuing company mismanages the reserves or faces legal trouble.

The collapse of TerraUSD (an algorithmic stablecoin) in 2022 is a cautionary tale for potential stablecoin holders.

However, it’s important to note that stablecoins like USDT and USDC are fiat-backed and have been considered some of the more secure stablecoins for individuals.

Depegging is one of the biggest risks with stablecoins, which is when a stablecoin loses its 1:1 peg to the US dollar.

The TerraUSD collapse started as a simple depeg. However, the lack of true reserves combined with market manipulation resulted in a massive price crash and huge losses for the stablecoin holders.

Moreover, fiat-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC have seen temporary depegs, often triggered by negative news about the issuing company or liquidity pressure. Nevertheless, it has proven to be nothing to worry about over the years.

Final Thoughts

While stablecoins may not always be the wise investment choice, they make the most sense for Nigerians. The coins offer a safe parking spot between keeping savings in Naira and crypto volatility, as the risk of a Naira devaluation lingers.

They have proven to help protect value, stay liquid, and provide money without friction for most Nigerians over the past few years. And sometimes not losing is the smartest move rather than chasing pumps.

Traditional cards with limited spending caps can be inconvenient. Users often face declined transactions when trying to make large purchases, struggle to top up their balance quickly, and constantly have to monitor their limits to avoid card blocks.

These issues become even more significant when shopping on international platforms. Due to currency conversion and additional fees, global shopping can become very costly.

The Ultima virtual card from PSTNET offers a solution to all these problems. It imposes no spending limits on its users.

With it, you can easily buy plane tickets, book hotels, pay for digital service subscriptions, purchase clothing and accessories, and even make large transactions. For example, you can order electronics or designer furniture from overseas stores.

PSTNET Virtual Cards for Global Shopping

PSTNET issues virtual cards for media buying with a 3% cashback on online transactions. The Ultima, virtual card for shopping, is ideal for active users who regularly make online payments and use their card for global purchases. PSTNET offers free cards when a certain monthly spending threshold is reached.

All PSTNET cards are highly secure, featuring 3D Secure technology and two-factor authentication.

Ultima is an unlimited card, meaning there are no restrictions on how much you can top up or spend.

Additionally, it has a favorable fee structure:

• 0% transaction fee
• 0% fee for declined transactions or transactions on frozen cards
• 0% withdrawal fee
• 2% top-up fee
• $7 monthly maintenance fee
• $99 annual maintenance fee (currently available at a 48% discount)

Moreover, users can issue an unlimited number of Ultima cards to manage their expenses.

For companies and businesses, PSTNET offers the option to create branded White Label cards. These cards can be integrated into brand products, allowing companies to offer additional services and enhance customer loyalty.

How Does the Ultima Card Work?

To start using the Ultima virtual card, simply complete a quick registration on the PSTNET platform. The process takes just a few minutes and requires you to create an account via Google, Telegram, WhatsApp, Apple ID, or email. Once registered, you can issue the card through your user dashboard.

Immediately after issuance, the card becomes active, and you can top up your balance. It’s important to note that user verification is only required if the top-up amount exceeds $500. This threshold acts as an additional security and transparency measure.

The Ultima card is suitable for converting crypto assets into fiat money with automatic conversion. It’s accepted wherever Visa and MasterCard are, making it a versatile tool for global shopping.

Topping Up Your Ultima Card

The Ultima card can be topped up in several ways:

It supports 18 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, USDT (TRC 20, ERC 20), ETH, BNB, XRP, TRX, BCH, USDC (Ethereum), USDC (Tron), ADA, SOL, MATIC, BUSD, LTC, DASH, DOGE, TON, and USDT.

Additionally, the card supports top-ups via SEPA/SWIFT bank transfers and other Visa or MasterCard cards.

To top up your card, simply log in to your user dashboard and choose your preferred funding method. With a wide range of supported currencies and top-up methods, you can easily manage your finances and transfer funds to your card anytime.

User Interaction and Support

For user convenience, PSTNET offers several channels for technical support. You can reach out for assistance via Telegram chat or use other communication methods like live chat or WhatsApp.

Additionally, there’s a special Telegram bot that sends service notifications and 3D Secure codes, helping maintain a fast interaction with the system and protect user payment data.

Conclusion

The Ultima virtual card from PSTNET is a convenient and secure solution for safe global shopping. Its main advantage is the absence of spending limits and transaction fees, making it ideal for active users. The support for multiple cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, along with easy registration, makes the card accessible to users of all experience levels in financial technologies.

Moreover, PSTNET offers opportunities for businesses by creating branded White Label cards, which can be a powerful tool for increasing customer loyalty and providing additional services.

For those who frequently shop online or work with cryptocurrencies, the Ultima card is a simple and cost-effective way to manage finances and make purchases worldwide.

A new study reveals the most and least stable cryptocurrencies, with Tether and BitTorrent being the safest bets for traders and Bonk and Bitcoin being the most volatile.

The research by online crypto casino Bombastic analyzed data of the largest 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, according to CoinGecko, and ranked each based on year-on-year (YoY) price changes to determine the ranking.

The most volatile cryptocurrencies

Memecoin Bonk (BONK) is the most volatile cryptocurrency, with the greatest difference between highs and lows.

Bonk’s value has fluctuated between $0.000000177 and $0.0000255, a 14,306% difference.

ORDI (ORDI), Kaspa (KAS), and Injective (INJ) rank second through fourth with differences of over 2,000%.

Conflux (CFX) and Akash Network (AKT), the fifth and sixth most volatile coins, experienced some of the market’s biggest price fluctuations of over 1,000%.

BEAM (BEAM), THORChain (RUNE), Osmosis (OSMO), and Sei (SEI) saw price changes of over 750%.

The most bullish cryptocurrencies

Injective (INJ) experienced the greatest, with a 1,587% difference – its price rocketed from $2 at its earliest value to $33.77 at the time of writing.

Kaspa (KAS) follows with 1,420% growth from $0.006 to $0.098.

Bonk (BONK), the most volatile cryptocurrency, has seen values rocket by 813% YoY from $0.00000115 to $0.0000105.

Akash Network (AKT) experienced a 765% positive YoY change.

Celestia (TIA) and Conflux (CFX) rank fifth and sixth with over 500% growth in price.

Stacks (STX), Render (RNDR), and Siacoin (SC) grew by over 300%.

Roning (RON) ranks tenth most bullish, with a 267% change from $0.6 to $2.25.

The most bearish cryptocurrencies

GALA’s price has sunk the most, with a 58.3% negative YoY growth from $0.053 at its earliest value to $0.022.

Flare (FLR), The Sandbox (SAND), and Axie Infinity (AXS), in second, third, and fourth place, saw values drop by over 40%.

Decentraland (MANA), EOS (EOS), 1000SATS, Aptos (APT), Flow (FLOW), and Algorand (ALGO) experienced average YoY drops of over 35%.

The most stable cryptocurrencies

Tether (USDT) experienced the most stable growth of all cryptocurrencies.

Tether, currently the biggest stablecoin by market cap, has the least difference between the highest and lowest prices by percentage, with a 1.35% YoY change. At its lowest, the coin was valued at $0.99, compared to $1.009 at its peak. The coin is pegged to the US Dollar to keep its value steady.

LEO Token (LEO) is the steadiest cryptocurrency, excluding stablecoins, with a 25% difference between its dips and highs, from $3.32 to $4.17.

Dogecoin (DOGE) ranks tenth safest, with a positive 76% YoY change between dips and recoveries. Doge hit $0.057 at its lowest value compared to $0.10 at its highest.

A spokesperson from Bombastic commented on the findings: “Now, with years of historical data, these findings offer crypto traders an insight into the safest and riskiest coins to invest in.

“Data shows that memecoin Bonk experienced huge percentage changes in price, over 10,000% more than the next coin.

“Among the most bullish coins are ones attached to games networks such as Gala, Axie Infinity, and The Sandbox.

“It could signal that market sentiment towards these gaming ecosystems is downward or in favor of other coins”.

Tether has announced the discontinuation of support for the Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP, and Omni Layer implementations as part of their commitment toward maintaining a robust blockchain ecosystem for USD₮ and all other tokens they issue.

Tether said the ‘strategic transition aims at ‘meeting community demands and foster innovation’.

Paolo Ardoino, the CTO, also explained the reason for this via a tweet on the X platform, and he can be quoted as saying: 

“Today #Tether announces the ending of the support of 3 blockchains $USDt: OmniLayer, BCH-SLP and Kusama.

Customers will be able to continue to redeem and swap $USDt tokens (to another of the many supported blockchains), but Tether won’t issue any new additional $USDt on those 3 blockchains.

Continuing Ardoino said: “This decision pains our hearths especially in reguards to the Omni Layer, Tether $USDt initial transport layer back in 2014. Over the years, the Omni Layer faced challenges due to the lack of popular tokens and the availability of $USDt on other blockchains.

This led many exchanges to favor alternative transport layers, leading to a decline in $USDt usage on #Bitcoin using the Omni Layer.

A key factor in deciding to bring USD₮ to a specific blockchain is the level of community interest.

Tether said they carefully evaluate the effort required, encompassing security, customer support, compliance, and regulatory oversight, to ensure the security, usability, and sustainability of the chosen blockchain.

If a blockchain lacks significant traction over an extended period and shows no signs of recovery in usage indicators, maintaining support becomes inefficient and may jeopardize security and oversight.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Tether will embark on a strategic transition, discontinuing support for the Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP and Omni Layer implementations. 

“Yet we want to emphasize that Tether’s team is rooted in the belief of leveraging the most secure, audited, and decentralized blockchain ever built: #Bitcoin”, a statement by Tether reads.

[Feature Image Source]