An innovation using the cellular network (GSM) could onboard millions of Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) users previously unreachable by the internet-dependent Bitcoin protocol.\u00a0Built by South African developer Kgothatso Ngako, the new SMS-based service is named Machankura, a slang South African word for money.<\/p>\n KG, as he\u2019s known to his friends, spoke to Cointelegraph from Pretoria, South Africa, about his fascination with Bitcoin and the hope he has that sending it like a text will bring BTC to millions of Africans.<\/p>\n Machankura, the #Bitcoin<\/a> for feature phones service in Africa, is slowly growing. https:\/\/t.co\/TZngXXVhu0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Derek Ross ⚡5️⃣ (@derekmross) August 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n As an English speaker, when he first learned about Bitcoin, he listened to audiobooks and podcasts on the way to work. His commute kept getting longer to maximize Bitcoin education. A 20-minute cycle became a 2-hour commute to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, where he worked as a software developer.\u00a0KG also coded up Manchakura while working at the CRIS.<\/p>\n In a separate interview, Master Guantai, founder of Bitcoin Mtaani, told Cointelegraph, \u201cThe number of cellphones in Africa is double the number of people.\u201d However, internet-enabled smartphone penetration remains low.<\/p>\n In Kenya, Guantai\u2019s home country, he explains that topping up a phone with airtime is as common as credit card payments in the West. A report by Caribou backs up the statement: 94% of financial transactions in Africa are through USSD, the protocol used to send text messages, whereas just 6% of these transactions are made via mobile apps. \u200b\u200b<\/p>\n In sum, while there are millions of phones in Africa, they\u2019re mostly used for texting. KG had stumbled onto something that could be huge for Bitcoin adoption in Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, a lot of conversations in the space were around USSD or making Bitcoin accessible on feature phones\u2013this could be a part-time project\u2013let me just set it up. And that\u2019s basically how Machankura came to be!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n KG started by building an African language translation project Exonumia. Now providing Bitcoin-related education in dozens of languages, he explained to Cointelegraph that if we make Bitcoin more accessible to Africans, then, as a consequence, they will learn about money and find a way to improve their quality of life. <\/p>\n Once Exonumia picked up steam, he questioned, \u201cwhat are the other barriers to accepting Bitcoin? Language is one\u2013the other is internet access.\u201d He sums up the internet in Africa as a space dominated by big applications such as Instagram and Facebook. The problems inherent to smartphone users are having enough space on phones, internet connectivity and price. <\/p>\n KG explains, \u201cThe major focus is on spending and receiving Bitcoin.\u201d KG explains how it works. Users dial a number and then introduced to a menu where they can learn more about Bitcoin or register an account. “All you need to register an account is a 5-digit pin, and from there on, you are presented with a different menu: send and receive Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is Paco, the\u00a0Bitcoin traveler who won\u2019t stop teaching people about Bitcoin around the world<\/a>\u2013demonstrating Machankura to a teacher in Nigeria, at Cointelegraph\u2019s request.<\/p>\n Used @Machankura8333<\/a> to share some Sats with High school teacher in Lagos, Nigeria.@LumiExc<\/a> went to this school.#btc<\/a> #hyperbitcoinization<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ba5SPAGPLE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Paco de la ⚡ (@RunwithBitcoin) August 8, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n As a result, Lightning wallet-compatible apps on phones or computers can send Bitcoin over the Lightning Network<\/a> to the phone\u2019s number\u2013it has effectively become a lightning address. Machankura has integrated with Bitrefill, an increasingly popular prepaid gift card service for Bitcoin in Africa<\/a>. Soon,\u00a0South Africans will be able to top up their Lighting Wallets with credit from grocery stores in a partnership with \u201cOne for you,\u201d a voucher provider.\u00a0<\/p>\n Machankura users can now redeem @Azteco_<\/a> (and 1 For You) Bitcoin vouchers using the USSD interface. pic.twitter.com\/qkPRwGzkrL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Machankura 8333 (@Machankura8333) August 10, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n As Ngako summarizes, “A person literally without no internet access can go from having no Bitcoin to having Bitcoin and then go to spending Bitcoin.”<\/p>\n\n
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