Weekly Brief 2026/05

This week, the narrative shifted from "how to pay" to "how it pays off." While South Africa activated Lightning across 700,000 potential locations, a legendary American restaurant chain proved that a Bitcoin strategy is a massive driver of real-world business growth.

Bitcoin is hitting the streets through major restaurant chains and global travel portals. It’s no longer just a store of value—it’s an active business outcome driver.

• Steak ’n Shake: Beyond their BTC treasury, the brand is seeing direct sales growth from their orange-pilled customer base.

• Travelwings: You can now book flights and holidays globally using Bitcoin Lightning. This opens up high-value travel categories to the circular economy.

Lightning is being embedded into the rails merchants already use. From POS systems to USSD bridges, the friction to "accepting sats" is disappearing for everyone.

• Ozow + MoneyBadger: A major South African payment gateway launched "Crypto Payments," making Bitcoin practical at a massive, national scale.

• Zambia via USSD: BitZed’s Bitcoin service is now fully available via Machankura’s USSD code. This allows users to buy and spend BTC without a smartphone or data connection.

Hard data is beginning to surface, showing that Lightning is moving beyond retail into essential everyday services like transportation.

• Cape Town Parking: Real-world proof of paying for parking at the V&A Waterfront using Lightning via MoneyBadger and the Blink wallet.

The real magic is happening in local communities where merchant-to-merchant loops mean sats never have to leave the Lightning Network.

• Bitcoin Ekasi & Babies: In South Africa, the "engine is officially roaring" as butchers pay millers and local shops pay their suppliers—all in Bitcoin.

The Future of the African Circular Economy

To wrap up a historic week, look at the incredible energy from the African Bitcoin Circular Economy Summit at the Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town conference. This is what the global shift to a Bitcoin standard looks like.

Check out our previous briefs to track the ongoing expansion of the global Bitcoin payment network.