Nairobi, Kenya

Andrey Sikdelnikov

I believe in Bitcoin for everything.

Andrey has completely changed the way he handles his finances. He went from using the Kenyan Shilling in his everyday life to now exclusively using Bitcoin for everything. Regardless of barriers at hand, he leads the way with Bitcoin and he can’t wait for the rest of the world to follow.

Hybrid-solutions (for now)

Since not everywhere in Kenya (or the world) accepts Bitcoin as a payment method, Andrey had to get creative with his solutions. When he is faced with a merchant that doesn’t take Bitcoin, “I sell my Bitcoin on Paxful and get the necessary amount in shillings to my phone and then pay my bill,” he shared. Since these transactions take less than 2 minutes to complete, Andrey doesn’t need to skip a beat. Instead of needing to make sure he has the correct amount in his bank account, he can make transactions on the fly without having to do anything beforehand.

Bitcoin on the road

As Andrey looks back on his dedicated Bitcoin-first lifestyle, he has one purchase that ranks above all else—his 1996 Land Rover Defender. When he originally found the car, he asked the man selling it “if he wanted to sell me the car for Bitcoin.” Ultimately, the seller agreed. “It was his first experience with crypto,” he said, and Andrey was excited to introduce him to the world of Bitcoin. 

With his new car in tow, Andrey needed to find a mechanic that would do the necessary work to get him on the road. He set out to find an auto shop that accepted Bitcoin but sadly came up short. Andrey wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Instead of trading Bitcoin for his local currency, he decided to get a bit more creative. He approached a shop owner and gave him a proposition: “I need a lot of work done on this vehicle and I’d like to pay you in Bitcoin for it,” he said. Skeptical at first but knowing how much work needed to be done, the shop owner finally agreed and Andrey was on his way.

Andrey now proudly drives around Nairobi in a beautiful Defender that was 100% built with Bitcoin.