USDT is the dominant Indian P2P stablecoin by a huge margin. The alternatives exist but are mostly available on spot, not P2P. Knowing them helps you understand the broader stablecoin ecosystem.
USDC
Issuer: Circle (US-regulated). Available on Binance and Bybit P2P with thin merchant pools (10-50 active ads vs 800+ on USDT). Spreads 1-2%.
Used by users prioritising regulatory cleanliness over depth.
FDUSD
First Digital USD — issued by First Digital Trust (Hong Kong). Binance has aggressively promoted FDUSD as a USDT alternative. Spot pairs are deep; P2P presence in India is essentially zero.
DAI
Decentralised stablecoin from MakerDAO (now Sky). On-chain only — no centralised issuer. Available on spot but practically no P2P market in India.
Practical takeaway
If you want stablecoins beyond USDT, you'll typically buy USDT P2P then spot-swap to the alternative. The two-leg cost is still less than the direct P2P spread on the alternative.
Key takeaways
- USDT dominates Indian P2P; alternatives are 1-3% of volume each.
- USDC for regulatory cleanliness; FDUSD/DAI available only on spot.
- Two-leg swap (USDT P2P → spot to alternative) is usually cheapest.
