Important takeouts:
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Stablecoins are everyday tools for saving, paying and trading in Nairobi and Lagos.
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Inflation, FX swing and high transfer costs are adopted.
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Mobile Money Links make Stablecoins a familiar and practical mood.
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Risk remains for reserves, fraud and changing regulations.
On Tuesday morning in Nairobi, Amina bills a client in Berlin. By the afternoon, USDC has landed in her wallet, and within minutes she will put cash on M-Pesa. What I once felt experimental was thanks to services like Kotani now, paying that ridiculous thing to mobile money.
Crossing the continent of Lagos, Chinedu runs a small store and maintains working capital with USDT in Tether. Holding “digital dollars” means that he can replenish his imports without seeing his margin disappear into Naira’s volatility.
He is almost no outlier. Between July 2023 and June 2024, Nigeria alone processed nearly $22 billion in Stablecoin trading, by far the largest volume in sub-Saharan Africa.
A draw is economical. Average 8.45% of remittances to regions via traditional remittance channels (third quarter 2024), with digital first operators bringing their fees closer to 4%.
Adding Stablecoin Hop and reliable cash-out options will sharpen your savings, especially with transfers of $200-$1,000, which keeps your family and small businesses.
Costs vary by market, but the principles are as follows: To navigate inflation, currency management and the world’s most expensive transfer corridor, Stablecoins offers a way to move money by retaining value more than phones.
Macross Quiz: Inflation, FX, Remittance Friction
The life crisis in Nigeria has not disappeared. Inflation eased from its early 2025 highs, but in July 2025 the headline consumer price index (CPI) was 21.88%, far exceeding its target, eroding purchasing power that has steadily eroded.
Currency reforms from 2023 onwards have increased the short-term volatility of households and importers who price their essentials in dollars, including multiple devaluations and a shift to a market-driven Forex regime.
The Kenya photos are mild, but follow the same pattern. In August 2025, inflation caused by rising food and transportation costs reached up to 4.5%, while the shilling swing increased demand for USD among traders.
In addition to this, there is the world’s most expensive transfer corridor. World Bank remittance prices averaged 8.45% in the third quarter of 2024, sub-Saharan Africa, far surpassing the UN’s 3% sustainable development goals, achieving the target, well above the global average of 6%.
For families sending between $200 and $500 at a time, these costs can be the difference between paying rent on time and being late.
These pressures explain why it has become a practical solution for freelancers, traders and small businesses, from Nairobi to Lagos.
Did you know? The Nigerian Diaspora sent a home worth around $19.5 billion in 2023. This is about 35% of all remittances to sub-Saharan Africa.
Why Stablecoins? Practical Economics
For those who cross borders or save in weak local currency, stubcoins act as “digital dollars” with two distinct advantages. The 14-hour patrol is clear, with fees lower than traditional money services (especially for cross-border payments).
The combination of speed and affordability explains much of the traction in emerging markets.
In sub-Saharan Africa, this is already visible on the ground. Chain melting data shows that Stablecoins now constitute the largest share of everyday cryptographic activities.
In Nigeria alone, less than $1 million is controlled by stablecoins, reaching around $3 billion in the first quarter of 2024. All regions, Stablecoins account for around 40% to 43% of the total crypto volume.
Tether’s USDT (USDT) and USDC (USDC) remain major options. At the edge where costs determine behavior, Tron emerged as a preferred network for moving USDTs. By mid-2025, it had achieved the largest share of USDT supply. The logic is simple. People follow the cheapest and most reliable options.
How it works on the ground
On/Off Lamp and P2P
In Kenya and Nigeria, most people acquire USDT or USDC through a mix of regulated fintech and peer-to-peer (P2P) markets and send cash through banks and mobile money.
Yellow cards, which operate in about 20 African countries, run most of their transfers in USDT. Yellow Pay Services connects users across borders and supports local cash outs, including mobile money. Today, Stablecoins accounts for 99% of the Yellow Card business.
Mobile Money Bridge
In East Africa, the backbone is M-PESA and other mobile wallets. Kotani Pay offers conversion services for partners to settle on Stablecoins and pay directly to M-Pesa.
Mercy Corps’ Kenya Pilot tested M-PESA savings from USDC using Kotani. The flow is simple. You will receive it in USDC, convert it into shillings and spend it through the same wallet you already use.
Fintech Scale Up
Some companies keep the crypto layer invisible. Chipper Cash, for example, uses USDC behind the scenes to instantly move dollars across the network. It also began using Ripple’s technology to bring funding to nine African markets. For customers it feels like a faster, cheaper version of the familiar wallet.
Daily Use Cases
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Savings: Convert small balances into digital dollars to protect against inflation.
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Salary and Gigs: Freelancers and creators often receive payments at USDC and convert only what they need to be in local currency.
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Transactions and Inventory: Small businesses resolve invoices and pay stubcoin suppliers. Yellow Cards cite business payments among the fastest growing segments.
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Transfer: Stablecoin transfers with local cash-out options have defeated traditional transfer services, especially with transfers between $200 and $1,000.
Mobile money is already everywhere, with over 2 billion registered accounts all over the world. Sub-Saharan Africa is at the heart of this trend.
Regulation and Policy Drift
Nigeria
Regulation stances have changed rapidly in recent years, from bans to careful permissions to now more stringent policing.
In December 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria lifted the banking ban and allowed banks to open accounts with Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
However, in 2024 the tide revolved again. Authorities cracked down on the Naira P2P venue and vinanence, detained executives, halted the Naira pair and warned of additional rules against illegal trade.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission updated its cryptographic framework in January 2025, updating its current law, the new Investment Securities Act (ISA 2025), to clarify the obligation to register digital asset companies. More licensing, disclosure and marketing scrutiny is expected.
Kenya
The Financial Act 2023 introduced a 3% digital property tax that was upheld by the Supreme Court in late 2024.
However, policies shifted again in mid-2025. The 2025 Financial Act abolished collection and replaced virtual asset providers with an excise tax liability of 10% of the fees they charged. Users and operators must track their Excise, VAT/DST, and reporting obligations.
Finally, The framework is evolving quickly. Always check the latest local guidance before selecting a provider.
Did you know? Approximately one in six adults in Kenya do not have a formal financial account. As of 2021, formal financial inclusion reached 83.7%. That is, 11.6% of adults remained completely excluded from both formal and informal financial services.
Risk ledger
Stablecoins have the potential to solve speed and cost issues, but they have their own risks falling into three main categories:
Pegs and counterparties
Stablecoins are as reliable as the reserves and governance behind them. An analysis of International Village Banks and the International Monetary Fund warns that rapid growth can cause financial stability issues, from forced sales of reserve assets to “dollarization” that undermine local financial controls.
The USDC DE-PEG in March 2023 showed how quickly the confidence shock spreads. Independent reviews also flag the transparency gap and publisher concentration as a continuing concern.
Operation
On the ground, daily risks include P2P fraud, wallet theft, bridge breakdowns, and learning difficulties.
Regulatory measures can make things worse. Nigeria’s 2024-2025 crackdown freezes accounts and stuck balances overnight, showing how access suddenly disappears.
policy
On a systematic level, relying on dollar-related silly stubcoins can accelerate informal dollarization and shift payments outside of regulated banking channels. In response, policymakers are pushing for stricter licensing, stricter reserve standards, and more disclosures from publishers.
Did you know? At the 2025 Stubcoin Summit in Lagos, SEC Director Emomotimi Agama declared“Nigeria is open for the stubcoin business, but on conditions that protect the market and empower Nigerians.”
What’s coming next for stablecoins in Africa?
Stablecoins does not resolve inflation or rewrite its Forex policy, but for many people like Nairobi, Lagos, they save, pay, pay faster, faster and faster. Integration with mobile money makes them feel practical.
Builders frame Stablecoins as a tool for everyday utility, but regulators are concerned about dollarization and financial stability. The balance of these forces shapes what comes next.
On the ground, the safest approach is simple. Keep costs low, stick to reliable providers, and stay vigilant as rules evolve.
The only potential future is clearer disclosure requirements, more stringent licenses, and “background cryptographic” services where users have no view of the token at all, and will move instantly and at a low cost.
This article does not include investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading movements include risk and readers must do their own research when making decisions.