Excerpt
I chat with a team member of Machankura about how they’re making Bitcoin transactions possible through SMS – no internet needed! See how it works and discover why many people in Africa lack internet access. This solution is bringing Bitcoin to more people worldwide.
Transcript
Q: So, please tell us about Machankura.
A: Machankura, when we started out, we were a company that enabled sending and receiving of bitcoin using USSD. If you are familiar, I’m from Kenya with the M-Pesa platform, it has integrated the USSD, that’s the GSM network that’s normally used to send SMSs. So we’ve integrated Lightning onto it.
Q: Why is this beneficial?
A: Even though we have internet connectivity in Africa, it’s still expensive for a majority of the population to afford. And if they want to transact in bitcoin, they may end up having a challenge because of not being able to afford data. So with Machankura you can be able to access it on the USSD.
Q: Can you give a demonstration on how that works?
A: Sure.
Q: So USSD is basically like a menu that’s working like text messages, right?
A: Yes, absolutely.
Q: Okay, and you can send and receive Lightning through it?
A: Yes, absolutely.
Q: Is the code the same in all countries?
A: The code is different in different countries. The USSD code is available in seven countries so far. So the Kenyan code is this. So when I dial this, you have this menu. Remember, you can send bitcoin, receive bitcoin, the balance, and everything.
Q: What options do users have when sending bitcoin?
A: You can maybe try the send, receive, send bitcoin option. So you see you can be able to send bitcoin to a phone number, a Lightning address, a username, an LN invoice, and even on-chain.
Q: But phone numbers are not really secure, right?
A: The majority of people, their phone number will not be secure. We provided the username option for that because we don’t want people sharing their phone numbers. It’s not safe.
Q: That’s great, yeah.
A: And if you’re not on the platform, you also have a Lightning address so you can be able to send to any other wallet besides us. We also offer the on-chain option for those who just want to send and receive on-chain as well.
Q: Okay, but it’s a custodial wallet, right?
A: It is a custodial wallet.
Q: So how is your money secured? I mean, for yourself, if you don’t have a key, you have a password or how does it work?
A: So we do have a password. I do not have a password on my end, but you do have a password. And in terms of the WhatsApp version, there is a Google authenticator as well that is integrated. So we make sure that it’s secure.
Q: And what do you tell users about custody?
A: When we’re carrying out onboarding, I’m also a Bitcoin indicator, I make sure to tell our users that this is a custodial wallet. So I also introduce them to our self-custodial wallet as well and give them the keys and the relevant education. And I follow the trust no one ethos in Bitcoin even though you run the company. And yeah, that’s how we’ve been working.
