In March 2025, Trump signed an order creating a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, calling Bitcoin "digital gold" because only 21 million will ever exist. This July he said, "I've become a big crypto guy."
The richest country on earth is planning to hold Bitcoin for the long term. Meanwhile, many people still think it's a scam.
If the US sees Bitcoin as a reserve asset, maybe it's time the rest of us learned it properly, starting with self-custody and Lightning, not Ponzi apps.
Nigerians don't want Bitcoin. They want dollars. Can Lightning change that?
Since 2023 the naira has lost over two-thirds of its value against the dollar. So when people here say "crypto", they almost always mean USDT. It works like a dollar savings account, and P2P traders make it easy to swap in and out of naira.
Bitcoin? Most people see it as too volatile to hold and too slow and pricey to send. Lightning is almost unknown.
I've been showing friends and family sats moving in seconds for almost nothing. They're impressed, but the next question is always the same: how do I spend this, or turn it into naira?
So, stackers: what would actually win Nigerians over? Better Lightning P2P off-ramps, merchants taking sats, or just time and education?
I'm Precious, a Bitcoin learner from Aba, Nigeria. Computer engineering grad, speaking English and Igbo.
Here most people say "crypto" and mean USDT. Lightning is almost unknown, so I'm learning it myself and showing friends and family how sats move in seconds for almost nothing.
Happy to answer anything about how Bitcoin is really used on the ground in Nigeria. Who should I follow? ⚡