So I was lurking on Twitter as always and stumbled upon an interesting tweet, fuck, it is no longer called Twitter and it is called X .
Okay, it was an interesting post by former American Football player Russell Okung about his Bitcoin experience in Africa.
Here's what he wrote below
During my time in Africa, while advocating for the Lightning Network, I faced a cold, hard realization.
Despite my efforts, I found that more people were interested in dealing with USDT rather than Bitcoin.
They desired USD, even if they were synthetic versions.
Here's the full tweet/post
It is an interesting realization to him as people here were not very excited about Bitcoin but were for USD!
I know this sounds and looks weird from the perspective of a Bitcoin maxi or just any Crypto maxi!
No doubt the Bitcoin lightning network he was/is advocating for is great but people here aren't just ready for it yet, sounds surprising I know.
My Reply To Him
I know he might not see my reply or even reply back but I know some other people will see my reply.
I of course stated and replied as an African and not as a maxi hehe, so I am kinda representing the majority of ordinary Africans haha.
Here's my reply to his tweet.
As an African (Ugandan), USD is very superior to our UGX hence better in reality! Adopting #Bitcoin here will take time and the first step is #USDT then later #BTC !#Bitcoin makes a lot of sense to the US folks because you compare it to the USD which is your base fiat!
My Tweet reply
I made this post so that I can expound on my reply as I couldn't say everything due to Twitter character limits.
4 Reasons Why USD Adoption is Higher To Bitcoin In Africa
These reasons are from my observation as a Crypto enthusiast from Uganda for the last 7 years I have been in the space.
You are free to disagree especially if you are from Africa and better a different country, as I am writing this from the perspective of a Ugandan.
1. USD Is superior To UGX
We all know how the dollar has been marketed over the years as the world's reserve currency!
A kid as young or as old as 10 years here knows how superior and powerful the dollar is.
This has happened over a long period of programming, it is fascinating that some people do not know the exact dollar exchange rate at any particular time.
All they know is that a person with dollars has lots of money.
I am sure if I or someone did an experiment here on the streets whereby people have to choose between $50 and 500,000 UGX most(95%) folks would choose to take the $50!
For perspective, 500,000 UGX is $129 at the current exchange rate.
Why would 95% of the people choose the $50? Because it has been programmed and ingrained in us over the years that anything attached to the dollar is better!
So that brings us to why people prefer USDT/USD to Bitcoin. The dollar is superior to our fiat hence it is a better option than Bitcoin at the moment!
Yes, this sounds fucked but it is the reality on the ground(according to my experience), people would rather take the dollar that has been over-marketed over the years than this new Bitcoin thing!
To make matters worse, Bitcoin is discouraged by almost all countries and banks.
So by just human nature, people will accept that which is universally accepted ie the dollar before Bitcoin!
2. USD is Easily Accessible
Almost all Ugandan banks have the option to convert UGX to USD here.
The banks even have the exchange rates displayed in the bank digitally or have them written on wooden boards outside the bank.
Yes, Bitcoin is a great concept, but most people still don't see its usefulness after all they read in the media.
We need to remember that almost 90% of the people get their financial advice from the media(MSM) and we all know what MSM says about Bitcoin and crypto in general.
The accesiblity of Bitcoin is a bit hard compared to dollars hence more people here prefer the dollar to Bitcoin as Russell Okung experienced.
Bitcoin accessibility has increased over time, 7 years ago when I joined the space a few crypto exchanges were facilitating this exchange.
We had local Bitcoins and another exchange from neighbouring Kenya, Bitpesa.
These Bitpesa guys used not to work on Weekends hehe and their starting exchange amounts were high.
I am happy that we now have many ways of accessing Bitcoin and crypto in Uganda led by of course Binance, YellowCard and many others.
With the rise of all these crypto exchanges that work 24/7, many people still prefer USD to Bitcoin!
I know that I might have interchanged USD and USDT but they are almost the same since one backs the other.
3. Volatility!
I know this is weird but most human beings aren't used to volatility, we are used to normal stuff ie no insane fluctuations
Even though Bitcoin isn't as volatile as those other meme/dog coins, it is still volatile to a normie(ordinary person) and normies do not want that stress hehe.
People would rather take USDT which is pegged to the dollar than Bitcoin which fluctuates minutely sometimes.
There was a time when Bitcoin almost became a stablecoin because there was no significant price movement over a long time.
The degens love volatility because that's how they make money, unlike normies.
I just remembered that I should stop using the word normies and stick to using an ordinary person going forward on this post!
I know the crypto folks would be surprised that ordinary people do not like volatility!
But remember that even you the crypto guy now once did not like volatility until you joined the space and realized that that is where the money is.
We should not blame other people ie those not yet in the space because they still have the old mindset about money, we also did have a similar mindset hehe.
So people would rather take USDT than Bitcoin.
4. Bitcoin Selling Point Hasnt Yet Sunk In Here
I know this will rattle some of you, but Bitcoin's selling point of it being a store of value hasn't yet sunk in well here.
True, Bitcoin is a store of value, but not many folks are at that level of understanding(thinking) yet here.
What do I mean? Many folks here are unemployed and also underemployed and the money they earn from(or ) crypto is used to sort their immediate needs ie rent, food and other expenses.
This is the money which normal employment would cater for but unfortunately, they aren't employed!
Folks here rarely think long-term, now this is not an insult but an observation that some of you will concur with.
Since most folks don't think long-term, it obviously becomes hard for them to see Bitcoin as a store of value, dang
Are we at par with what I said above?
The life lived in the US is not the same as the life here!
Most folks here live day to day hence the thought of the future rarely hits their minds.
People would rather take the USDT than BTC as USDT can easily be used to pay bills and the like.
People naturally think of the bad, better to have USDT that will be the same value after a year than have BTC that might go lower after a year!
But after 1 year, BTC might have even gone higher or even 2x, yes you are right, but remember that naturally humans are motivated by the motivation to avoid loss rather than pursue gains!
Zig Ziglar said it best
The fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain.
So it is just human nature at play.
Anyway, these are the 4 reasons I think USDT has a higher adoption rate than Bitcoin in Africa and maybe in some other third-world countries.
Do you agree with some or all?
I would be glad if you commented below.
Love
Jarau Moses
Posted Using InLeo Alpha