The Birth of a Bitcoin Taxi in Kenya

As bitcoiners, we are naturally cautious about security. The last thing I want after landing at an airport is to jump into the first available Uber or taxi. I always prefer to arrange transportation in advance—and in Kenya, this precaution matters even more.

In the Mombasa area, our trusted driver is George Kaleo Mbindu. He is experienced, professional, punctual, and deeply trustworthy. But George is no longer just a driver. He is now something far more unique: to my knowledge, the operator of the first Bitcoin Taxi in Kenya. George accepts Lightning payments in sats, offering privacy, security, and convenience to bitcoiners traveling in the region.

The First Encounter

When we first met, George was driving us from the Mombasa Train Terminal to a small village about an hour south of the city. During the trip, he became curious about the payment method I used. Like all Kenyans, he relied on M-Pesa, the country’s ubiquitous mobile money system. But - in addition to being the first Mzungu (a foreign white traveler in Swahili) to use M-Pesa with him - he noticed something else unusual.

I was using M-Pesa without having an M-Pesa or a Safaricom account.

How was that possible?

I explained that all I needed was an internet connection, the Tando Kenya app, and a Bitcoin Lightning wallet. My preference is for self-custodial wallets like Phoenix, though custodial options such as Wallet of Satoshi or Nostr wallets can also serve as entry points.

For George, this was a revelation.

Curiosity Turns Into Adoption

After that first meeting, I sent him articles and educational resources explaining Bitcoin, Lightning, and how sats can be sent and received instantly.

The next time we booked him, he arrived early. He had done his homework. He had questions—many of them. But more importantly, he wanted to see it work.

We sat together and installed a Lightning wallet and the Tando app on his phone. Then we tested it. I sent him sats as a demonstration payment. Within moments, he converted those sats into Kenyan shillings via M-Pesa.

In less than 30 minutes, George had become capable of accepting Bitcoin.

This was the turning point.

Bitcoin’s True Use Case in Developing Economies

In the developed world, bitcoin is often viewed primarily as a store of value—a hedge against inflation, a form of digital gold. This function, together with its increasing financialization is often associated with the scams which have given bitcoin a bad reputation. Of course bitcoin is just a tool and cannot be blamed for the scams perpetrated by some unscrupulous users and profiteers. Still, this is always what anyone approaching bitcoin feels at the beginning. George was not different. He was also convinced it was a scam, until he tested first hand bitcoin’s immediate utility.

It is money, instant, borderless, permissionless, frictionless.

For someone like George, Bitcoin is not yet about long-term savings. It is about efficient payments, financial sovereignty, and access. Over time—pole-pole, as they say in Swahili, “slowly, slowly”—the deeper properties of Bitcoin will reveal themselves: its scarcity, its resistance to censorship, and its immunity to confiscation.

But adoption begins with utility.

Savings come later. And he does not have to buy bitcoin. He just needs to start accepting bitcoin payments for his services. This dramatically de-risks bitcoin adoption, leaving only its volatility risk which he can decide to accept or immediately de-risk by converting stats into local currency using the Tando app.

A Competitive Advantage

By accepting Bitcoin, George has differentiated himself. He now serves a growing niche: bitcoiners, digital nomads, and privacy-conscious travelers arriving in Kenya.

This is not theory. This is real adoption, driven by real incentives.

George immediately understood something many in the developed world still overlook: Bitcoin solves actual problems.

He did not need convincing about monetary theory. He saw its usefulness firsthand.

This is why Bitcoin adoption spreads faster in developing economies. It is not driven by speculation or financialization. It is driven by necessity. By function. By lived experience.

Adoption grows from the bottom up.

And that is Bitcoin’s strongest foundation.

The First Bitcoin Taxi

George’s journey from curious driver to Bitcoin Taxi operator happened very quickly through minimal education, and mainly practical experimentation and empowerment.

One person. One wallet. One transaction at a time.

Good luck, George, with your new Bitcoin Taxi service. And if any of you readers are traveling to Kenya and want to support real Bitcoin adoption on the ground, book a ride with George. Pay him in sats. Or simply tip him to encourage his initiative - his Wallet of Satoshi address is: [email protected]

Because this is how Bitcoin spreads, through people and use cases.

One taxi at a time. Hakuna Matata George.

PS: if you are a bitcoiner, a digital nomad or a smart traveler who cares about privacy and personal security do not hesitate to give George a whatsapp call to book a ride with him in the Mombasa region in South Kenya.