Tando 是非洲完美的比特币应用程序

在我参加今年的非洲比特币会议之前，我看到与会者发布了有关 Tando 的帖子，这是一款位于肯尼亚的新支付应用程序，允许用户在不接受比特币的商家处消费。

When I tell people I'm headed to Africa to cover the continent's Bitcoin conference, the first question I get is usually something like, "Is bitcoin legal in Africa?"

当我告诉人们我要去非洲报道非洲大陆的比特币会议时，我得到的第一个问题通常是“比特币在非洲合法吗？”

The answer, of course, is that it depends on the country. In some African nations, bitcoin is fully legal, while in others it exists in a gray area or is even banned outright.

答案当然是取决于国家。在一些非洲国家，比特币是完全合法的，而在其他国家，它存在于灰色地带，甚至被彻底禁止。

But legality doesn't tell the whole story. Even in countries where bitcoin is technically illegal, people are still using it — and not just to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. They're also using bitcoin to pay for everyday goods and services, thanks to a growing number of apps that make it possible to spend sats with merchants who don't accept bitcoin.

但合法性并不能说明全部问题。即使在比特币在技术上是非法的国家，人们仍在使用它——而不仅仅是为了买卖加密货币。他们还使用比特币来支付日常商品和服务，这要归功于越来越多的应用程序，这些应用程序使得与不接受比特币的商家一起消费成为可能。

One of these apps is called Tando, a Kenya-based payments app that I saw attendees posting about before I even arrived at the conference. I had to check it out for myself.

其中一个应用程序名为 Tando，这是一款位于肯尼亚的支付应用程序，在我到达会议之前，我就看到与会者发布了有关该应用程序的信息。我必须亲自检查一下。

To use Tando, I simply downloaded the app and prepared to pay any merchant who accepts payments via M-PESA, Kenya's mobile money service. (I didn't have to go through a set up or KYC process, as Tando doesn't collect any identifying information from its users.)

为了使用 Tando，我只需下载该应用程序并准备向任何接受通过肯尼亚移动货币服务 M-PESA 付款的商家付款。 （我不必经历设置或 KYC 流程，因为 Tando 不会从用户那里收集任何身份信息。）

When the merchant presented me with my bill, I simply clicked on the "Send Money" square on the app's home screen. From there, I entered the mobile number tied to the M-PESA account to which I'm sending money and then input the amount of Kenyan shillings I want to send.

当商家向我出示账单时，我只需单击应用程序主屏幕上的“汇款”方块即可。从那里，我输入了与我要汇款的 M-PESA 账户绑定的手机号码，然后输入了我想要汇款的肯尼亚先令金额。

The app automatically calculated the amount of sats it will take to cover the shilling amount I've input. I then clicked on the green "Create Invoice" button to obtain a Lightning invoice. After that, I copied the invoice and paid it via my preferred Lightning wallet. Tando receives the sats and then settles the bill in shillings with the merchant within seconds.

该应用程序会自动计算支付我输入的先令金额所需的 Sat 数量。然后，我单击绿色的“创建发票”按钮来获取闪电发票。之后，我复制了发票并通过我喜欢的闪电钱包付款。 Tando 收到 Sats，然后在几秒钟内与商家以先令结算账单。

I can barely count how many times I've watched Bitcoiners use Tando to pay restaurant bills or taxi fares since I've been here. (I've been to a lot of restaurants and have ridden in a lot of taxis since I've arrived.)

自从我来到这里以来，我几乎数不清有多少次看到比特币用户使用 Tando 来支付餐厅账单或出租车费。 （自从我到达以来，我去过很多餐馆，也乘坐过很多出租车。）

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Tando interfaces with a fiat payment system, which means it should be excommunicated from the Church of Bitcoin.

现在，我知道你们中的一些人在想什么：Tando 与法定支付系统接口，这意味着它应该被逐出比特币教会。

But before you allow yourself to entertain that kind of thinking, please consider the following notions:

但在您允许自己进行这种思考之前，请考虑以下概念：

The excitement around Tando at the conference was part of the broader enthusiasm around apps that make bitcoin easier to use across the African continent — apps like Bitsacco, Machankura, Fedi and Bitnob.

会议上围绕 Tando 的兴奋是人们对让比特币在非洲大陆更容易使用的应用程序（如 Bitsacco、Machankura、Fedi 和 Bitnob）更广泛热情的一部分。

These apps are playing a crucial role in driving bitcoin adoption among Africans, who are already far ahead of their counterparts in the United States when it comes to using bitcoin as it is intended to be used — as peer-to-peer electronic cash.

这些应用程序在推动非洲人采用比特币方面发挥着至关重要的作用，在使用比特币作为点对点电子现金方面，非洲人已经远远领先于美国同行。

And while many Africans are working tirelessly to onboard as many merchants as they can to Bitcoin, Tando is an excellent intermediary step that allows Bitcoiners to spend their sats even if the merchants with whom they're spending don't yet accept bitcoin payments.

尽管许多非洲人正在孜孜不倦地努力让尽可能多的商家接受比特币，但 Tando 是一个出色的中间步骤，即使他们消费的商家尚未接受比特币支付，比特币用户也可以使用他们的 Sats。