OPINION | Just Like M-PESA, Stablecoins’ Real Value Isn’t Speed or Cost – It’s Open Access

Stablecoins are following the same path as mobile money. While they operate on blockchain technology, their mission is the same: to provide access to global financial stability in volatile currencies, and empowerment to people who have been excluded from traditional financial services. Different tech, same goal: financial inclusion for all.

CryptoGuru··5 min read
I would argue that Mobile money is a stablecoin – just built on telco rails instead of blockchain. The true value of mobile money wasn’t speed or cost; it was about access. It brought financial services to millions who were left out by traditional banking systems, enabling them to send money, make payments, and store value seamlessly.

 

Stablecoins are following the same path. While they operate on blockchain technology, their mission is the same: to provide access to global financial stability in volatile currencies, and empowerment to people who have been excluded from traditional financial services. Different tech, same goal: financial inclusion for all.

 

Stablecoins’ Real Value Isn’t Speed or Cost – It’s Open Access

In the world of financial technology, speed and cost dominate the marketing slogans. “Faster, cheaper payments” has become the battle cry of every cross-border payment startup.

 

But what if the true value of stablecoins isn’t that they’re faster or cheaper?

What if the value lies in something far more powerful – access?


Stablecoins, like USDC or USDT, are digital dollars issued on public blockchains. Yes, they can be faster and sometimes cheaper than traditional wires or remittance services. But here’s what we’re missing:

Even if they’re slower or more expensive, they still allow people and businesses to do what traditional systems block – participate in the global economy.

 

Now, Stablecoins help reach underserved segments (like consumers and SMBs in Africa) Then, they become the middle link between traditional fiat payment rails, This drives a flywheel of on-chain activity, As more activity moves on-chain, the cost advantage of fewer intermediaries compounds overtime and it becomes cheaper.

The Problem Isn’t Always Price – It’s Permission

Imagine a small startup in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The founder, Amina, has built a SaaS product that’s gaining traction in the U.S. and Europe. She’s ready to start charging clients – but she doesn’t have a U.S. bank account. Her Tanzanian bank won’t let her receive international wires easily, and PayPal freezes her funds.

Now picture this: with stablecoins, her customer pays in USDC. She receives it in minutes on her phone, no middleman needed. Even if it cost her 2% in fees, she’d pay it gladly – because access is the win.

 

The SuperPower of Removing Intermediaries, Over time Stablecoins can become the technology that allows value transfer without requiring trusted intermediaries at every step. This is profound value and that is at the core of the whole thing.

“When your biggest problem is getting in the door, speed is a bonus – not the value,” says one African fintech founder.

Global Trade Is Not Equal

If you live in London, New York, or Singapore, it’s hard to imagine that many companies can’t operate a full functional bank account in foreign currency. In much of the global south, banking is tightly regulated, currency conversion is a headache, and cross-border payments are slow and unreliable.

Take Kenya, where an agritech company needs to import sensors from China. Paying in USD means going through a local bank, enduring delays, and often paying a 10–20% markup on currency conversion due to dollar scarcity or losing a day because the bank doesnt have the dollars. With USDC, they can bypass these pain points entirely.

Stablecoins aren’t just fast – they bridge the global financial divide. They let small companies trade, pay, and get paid like global players – without asking permission from a gatekeeping bank.

Bypassing Banks Isn’t a Bug – It’s the Feature

Banks often serve the top 5% of businesses, the biggest names with clean paperwork and multi-year histories. For the rest – startups, small traders, freelancers – there’s a high risk of delay, denial, or account freezes.

Stablecoins don’t ask if you’re too small or too new. They don’t ask for minimum balances or decades of credit history. If you have a wallet, you have a global account.

Look at Nigeria, where exporters have been forced to accept local currency at unfavorable rates due to central bank restrictions. Today, many use stablecoins to settle trade in USD, giving them better pricing power and financial independence from broken systems.

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The Liquidity Layer No One Talks About

Here’s something most people don’t realize: payments are only as good as the liquidity behind them. If a country has capital controls or dollar shortages, traditional payments fail quietly – they’re delayed, canceled, or cost double what they should.

Stablecoins can bring the liquidity with them, especially when paired with crypto exchanges, over-the-counter desks, or peer-to-peer networks. A digital dollar doesn’t need to be cleared by a central bank. It just moves. thats access with no permission.

The Future Is Open – and Stablecoins Are the Rails

The real magic of stablecoins isn’t speed. It isn’t price. It’s open, permissionless participation in global trade – for the billions who’ve been locked out.

This is what excites founders from Manila to Mombasa. This is why a freelancer in Kampala can now get paid in digital dollars instead of waiting two weeks for a SWIFT transfer. This is why African fintechs, Latin American e-commerce platforms, and Southeast Asian gig workers are quietly adopting stablecoins – not for speculation, but for survival and growth.

Let’s Be Honest About What Matters

There’s a popular myth that stablecoins are “safer” because they’re backed by U.S. Treasuries. That’s not always true – issuer risk still exists, and regulation is evolving. But what’s undeniably valuable is what stablecoins enable:

  • Startups to receive payments from anywhere
  • Small businesses to import or export like the big players
  • Individuals to bypass broken local infrastructure and thrive

 

In a world that tells you to wait your turn, stablecoins quietly say, “You’re in.” That’s not just financial innovation. That’s economic justice.

 

 

This post was originally published by Reuben Mars.

 

 

 

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