Bitcoiners in Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and five other African countries can now send and receive bitcoin (BTC) without a smartphone or Internet connection. Just a basic feature phone and text code will suffice, thanks to a digital wallet from a company called Machankura.
Despite the global smartphone revolution, mid-2000s-style phones with more limited functionality remain extremely popular in Africa. Machankura – a word that’s South African township slang meaning money – has popped up to serve that base of devices and satisfy the desire among many on the continent to use bitcoin as a currency for transactions.
The technological challenge is high, of course. No internet connection and low-horsepower phones mean boiling down the money exchange to essentially sending something like texts. Machankura says it works, and taps into Bitcoin’s Lightning network, which facilities faster and cheaper transactions.
(by Frederick Munawa)
All Comments