The company handling the LN service (Tando.me) processes the LN payment by converting to fiat (KES), and delivering that fiat immediately to the mobile money wallet for that phone number from the Lightning Address.
There are no keys to the recipient of the payment, they don't even have to know what bitcoin is. They might not even know who sent, or why. The (fiat) funds just appear.
Tando has effectively “orange-pilled” 40 million people at once.
As of May 12, 2026, every mobile number tied to M-Pesa is now automatically a Lightning address in the format [number]@bitcoin.co.ke
No registration (by either the sender or the recipient). Sender needs only the recipient's Safaricom mobile number with m-Pesa enabled. Sender pays in bitcoin. Seconds later recipient sees the KSh m-Pesa payment arrive.
Been a while since I followed that country but somehow I think Kenya's ahead of the curve, with digital money (M-Pesa) available throughout Bitcoin's existence not to mention a steadily depreciating shilling.
Is there any other bitcoin service that today that has 40 million users on the Lightning Network, each with a Lightning Address?
Not "potential" users, or "addressable market", but Live (today!!) -- where they will immediately and automatically receive funds for any LN payment sent to their Lightning Address?
This is the kind of onboarding that actually matters. M-Pesa is already deeply habitual for tens of millions of people, so the friction isn't learning a new behavior, it's just layering Bitcoin underneath one they already have. That's a very different adoption story than most Western-focused products.
mpesa number 0702665157
How does "not your keys not your coin" fit into this? Mobile numbers can be spoofed?
The company handling the LN service (Tando.me) processes the LN payment by converting to fiat (KES), and delivering that fiat immediately to the mobile money wallet for that phone number from the Lightning Address.
There are 40 million mobile money accounts for the mobile money service M-Pesa (from Safaricom), in Kenya.
There are no keys to the recipient of the payment, they don't even have to know what bitcoin is. They might not even know who sent, or why. The (fiat) funds just appear.
It doesn't fit into this.
No registration (by either the sender or the recipient). Sender needs only the recipient's Safaricom mobile number with m-Pesa enabled. Sender pays in bitcoin. Seconds later recipient sees the KSh m-Pesa payment arrive.
Do you (or someone you know) have an M-Pesa number? I'd like to try it out by sending a few sats.
This was unsolicited by him, but I know he would appreciate any funds showing up.
+254702665157
I'll relay any response I get from him.
Nice!
It worked!
People of kenya! Drop your number I got sats to zap!!! I want to see this in action!!
See #1495463
Thanks!! yup it works
But as you can see the person gets doxxed when you make a payment. Not the best for privacy
0702665157..thats my mpesa number
0702665157
Been a while since I followed that country but somehow I think Kenya's ahead of the curve, with digital money (M-Pesa) available throughout Bitcoin's existence not to mention a steadily depreciating shilling.
Is there any other bitcoin service that today that has 40 million users on the Lightning Network, each with a Lightning Address?
Not "potential" users, or "addressable market", but Live (today!!) -- where they will immediately and automatically receive funds for any LN payment sent to their Lightning Address?
Thanks for sharing this.
Also read: #1488859
0702665157
This is the kind of onboarding that actually matters. M-Pesa is already deeply habitual for tens of millions of people, so the friction isn't learning a new behavior, it's just layering Bitcoin underneath one they already have. That's a very different adoption story than most Western-focused products.