Bitcoin Dreams: In Kenya’s Largest Slum, Residents Hope For a Crypto Lift
NEED TO KNOW
Bitcoin Dreams: In Kenya’s Largest Slum, Residents Hope For a Crypto Lift
KENYA
In Africa’s largest slum, Kibera, Dotea Anyim, like dozens of her fellow residents, has a small produce stand. But unlike most others, she accepts bitcoin, which about 10 percent of her customers use now.
“I like it because it is cheap and fast and doesn’t have any transaction costs,” she told the Associated Press. “When people pay using bitcoin, I save that money and use cash to restock vegetables.”
Around the world, people, businesses – and even entire countries – are adopting cryptocurrencies as a tool to combat poverty and grow revenue in spite of their risks, namely volatility and the lack of regulation.
“Bitcoin presents new opportunities for those in emerging economies, providing the freedom to transact without any gatekeepers,” wrote the European Conservative. “Through bitcoin, anyone can now enter the wider global economy and marketplace, and have the chance to be lifted out of poverty.”
Bitcoin, the first and largest cryptocurrency, was created in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis as a decentralized digital asset that could serve as an alternative method of payment, storing value as well as earning it.
Since then, it has taken off. It has helped those in war zones access their funds and the poor around the world get access to financial services they are often shut out from. It’s helped families get remittances from relatives abroad more easily and cheaply, and given the poor a chance to accrue savings and invest.
It was also adopted as legal tender in some countries, such as El Salvador and the Central African Republic, before both of those countries halted the move. Others, such as Bhutan, are ramping up their use of the currency.
Here in Kibera – a part of the capital of Nairobi with a population ranging from 250,000 to 1 million, no one is certain – a few hundred merchants and shoppers so far are using bitcoin as part of a pilot program to extend financial services to some of the country’s poorest and most under-banked people.
Kibera residents earn a dollar a day on average.
In Kenya overall, about 55 percent have access to financial institutions such as banks, a far higher percentage than in many other countries on the continent, such as Senegal, with only about 20 percent, according to the World Bank.
But far more people have access to a cell phone.
As a result, supporters of bitcoin say that it is accessible to those “unbanked” who are often prevented from accessing banks because they lack the proper documents or the money to obtain accounts.
The pilot program, started by AfriBit Africa, a Kenyan fintech company, in 2022, began with garbage collectors, who were paid in crypto and taught financial literacy and “Bitcoin 101.” The practice since then has slowly started to spread to other businesses that serve the slum.
“Bitcoin solves issues of financial sovereignty and financial inclusion,” Ronnie Mdawida, director of the AfriBit project, told Forbes. “Some of the merchants in the community do not have any form of documentation and would not be able to participate in the traditional business ecosystem or build their lives without bitcoin, which offers them an alternative.”
For years, the unbanked used M-PESA, the most used mobile money program in Kenya. However, advocates say one advantage of bitcoin over M-PESA is that the latter’s transaction costs are higher. If consumers and merchants use the AfriBit Africa platform, transactions are free.
Another issue is crime: Carrying cash is risky in Kibera, residents say.
One major risk of using the currency is the exposure to bitcoin’s volatility – some of Kenya’s poorest bitcoin users hold up to 80 percent of their net worth in the cryptocurrency, money they can’t afford to lose.
Also, there are barriers to access: Users need smartphones, consistent Internet, and digital literacy – all of which remain scarce in informal settlements like Kibera.
Meanwhile, there is regulatory uncertainty: Kenya’s government is planning to introduce a digital asset tax and restrictions on crypto giveaways which could harm users here.
“Bitcoin isn’t a silver bullet,” one Kenya fintech strategist told BitKE, a Kenyan magazine covering crypto. “If we can’t prove sustained usage or economic impact, this becomes a charity stunt – not financial inclusion.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
Protesters Demand Thai Leader Resign
THAILAND
Thousands of people protested in the Thai capital Bangkok over the weekend, demanding the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra following a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that critics say undermined Thailand’s sovereignty, the Associated Press reported.
On Saturday, around 20,000 people sang national songs and held placards calling the prime minister “enemy of the state.”
The demonstrations were organized by long-time conservative, pro-royalist opponents of Paetongtarn’s father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and her family – who have dominated Thai politics for two decades.
Both Thaksin and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, served as prime ministers, and both were ousted in military coups, in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
The weekend protests followed outrage over a phone call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen earlier this month over a May 28 border clash in which a Cambodian soldier was killed.
The leaked call featured Paetongtarn referring to the Thai army commander as someone who “just wanted to look cool,” and addressing Hun Sen as “uncle.” The remarks were widely condemned, triggering allegations of unprofessionalism and appeasement, and prompting calls for her removal.
Critics claimed that her family’s long-standing ties with Hun Sen – who refers to Thaksin as a “godbrother” – have compromised Thailand’s stance in the ongoing border dispute, the BBC wrote.
Paetongtarn has defended her actions, calling her statements during the phone call a “negotiation technique” and asserting she had “nothing to gain” from it. Still, she said she will avoid further contact with Hun Sen.
Even so, the fallout from the call has fractured her 10-party ruling coalition: Its largest partner, the Bhumjaithai Party, withdrew support, leaving the coalition with a slim 255-seat majority in the 500-member lower house.
Meanwhile, the prime minister is also facing investigations that could lead to her removal from office.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed it is probing Paetongtarn on possible ethics violations, while the constitutional court is expected to decide Tuesday whether to accept a petition to suspend her, pending a formal review.
DRC and Rwanda Sign Peace Deal To End Decades-Long Conflict
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / RWANDA
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a US-brokered peace agreement over the weekend in a bid to end decades of violence in the eastern Congo, a deal widely seen as opening the region’s mineral wealth to American investment, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Signed Friday in Washington, the deal commits both countries to “immediately and unconditionally cease any state support to nonstate armed groups” and to pursue the “disengagement, disarmament, and integration” of those forces.
The two neighbors also pledged to respect territorial integrity and halt cross-border aggression.
US President Donald Trump hailed the accord – mediated by the US and Qatar – as the end of years of conflict in the restive region and the beginning of “a new chapter of hope and opportunity.”
Rwanda is expected to withdraw troops deployed in eastern Congo, where more than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers had backed the M23 rebel group with advanced weaponry, having invaded the region in January, according to United Nations investigators.
The decades-long conflict dates back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which more than a million people – mainly ethnic Tutsis – were killed by ethnic Hutus. The Rwandan government and M23 fighters say they are protecting Tutsis in eastern Congo from Hutu-linked militias made up of former Rwandan army members who fled across the border after the genocide.
Rwanda has denied backing the M23 rebels and accuses the DRC of supporting the Hutu-affiliated groups. The Congolese government has rejected the allegations.
In 2025 alone, the outbreak of violence since January has killed more than 7,000 people and displaced about half a million more.
Friday’s deal follows a series of battlefield losses by the Congolese army in the resource-rich eastern provinces, prompting Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi to turn to the US for help in return for mining opportunities.
Analysts said the deal aligns with US aims to counter Chinese dominance in global supply chains for minerals, such as coltan and other resources vital to the global tech industry.
The accord also coincided with separate US negotiations with Rwanda over taking in non-citizen migrants expelled from the US.
Meanwhile, reaction to the peace deal has been mixed, with observers noting that its durability remains questionable because many local leaders and affected groups were not part of the negotiations, the BBC added.
Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila dismissed it as “nothing more than a trade agreement” and criticized the absence of M23 representatives.
Tens Of Thousands Attend Hungarian LGBT+ Pride March, Defying Ban
HUNGARY
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Hungarian capital Saturday to participate in a banned LGBT+ Pride march, in a major show of defiance against conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose government threatened legal consequences for participants, the Washington Post reported.
On Saturday, members of the LGBT+ community, their supporters, and European Union lawmakers marched across Budapest, waving rainbow flags and carrying signs mocking Orban.
It was considered the largest Pride event in Budapest’s history, with local media estimating that around 100,000 people participated, although no official figures were confirmed.
The march defied new legislation passed in March by Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party that bans public events portraying or allegedly promoting homosexuality for “child protection.”
The law also allows the use of facial recognition technology to identify individuals who participate in such events. Last week, Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned that organizing a banned event could carry a one-year prison sentence, while attending one would be classified as a misdemeanor.
Despite the threats, Budapest’s liberal mayor Gergely Karácsony attempted to bypass the ban by registering the event as a municipal gathering, which does not require a permit, according to Reuters.
Police warned that the march was still banned, but during Saturday’s event, they were seen keeping the peace between Pride attendants and anti-gay counter protesters.
Still, some organizers expressed concern that the use of facial recognition technology could result in penalties for participants after the event.
Orbán and his Fidesz party – which have dominated Hungarian politics for 15 years – have faced mounting criticism over democratic backsliding, and sanctions by the EU.
Opponents and rights groups argue that the Pride ban and broader anti-LGBT+ measures are part of a wider crackdown ahead of next year’s elections, where Fidesz is expected to face strong competition from the center-right opposition Tisza party
A recent poll showed Tisza leading Fidesz by 15 points.
DISCOVERIES
Arachnid Farmers
Meal options are pretty limited at the bottom of the seafloor.
That might explain why three species of sea spiders are “farming” their own food.
Scientists say they are even cultivating it in the form of methane-eating microbes directly on their own bodies, according to a new study.
Lead study author Shana Goffredi and her team discovered this novel farming method after they collected the three tiny species – which are very different from terrestrial spiders – from methane seeps off the coasts of California and Alaska.
The marine arthropods are from the Sericosura genus and were found with bacterial colonies coating their exoskeletons, which the authors dubbed as “microbial fur coat.”
But these colonies weren’t just hitching a ride – rather, the spiders and microbes were in a novel symbiotic relationship.
The bacteria would feast on the methane and methanol bubbling from the seafloor, which then would be eaten by the spiders.
“Just like you would eat eggs for breakfast, the sea spider grazes the surface of its body, and it munches all those bacteria for nutrition,” said Goffredi, a biologist at California-based Occidental College, told CNN.
The researchers confirmed this when they traced methane carbon from the microbes into the spiders’ tissues.
They believe that there could be some type of selection process at play, suggesting that the microbial species living on the spider’s exoskeleton are different from the ones found in the environment.
“The spiders are definitely cultivating and farming a very special type of community,” Goffredi told New Scientist.
Sericosura aren’t the first deep-sea organism to rely on methane-powered microbes – tube worms and sponges are known to do the same. But they are the first sea spiders to be observed doing so.
The authors noted that the symbiotic relationship may also play an important role in preventing climate-warming methane from escaping into the ocean or atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Goffredi added that the microbes on the spiders could one day be cultured to reduce water contaminants around the globe.
“While the deep sea feels really far away, all organisms are interconnected – even though they’re small, these animals have a big impact in that environment,” she told CNN. “We can’t ever hope to sustainably (use) the oceans if we don’t really understand the oceans.”