Bitcoin Ekasi October 2026 Update

Bitcoin Ekasi, the township Bitcoin economy in Mossel Bay, South Africa, published its October 2026 project update on 10 November. The post, written by founder Hermann Vivier, covers a tool for checking adoption claims, a return to Lugano Plan B, public support from the local mayor, the 2027 road trip and a mention in Blink's recovery bounty.

We have written before on how Bitcoin Beach inspired Bitcoin Ekasi, and how the project grew out of The Surfer Kids non‑profit.

Here is what the project reported.

A bot to check that adoption is real

The item with the widest reach is the PoW Checkbot. Bitcoin Ekasi says it questioned whether the adoption posts shared by Bitcoin circular economy projects reflect real Bitcoin use. Work on an answer began in early 2025.

The result was developed by Bitcoin Ubuntu. Bitcoin Ekasi describes it as a real‑time, automated proof‑of‑work verification system that helps projects show their reported adoption is backed by verifiable activity.

We have reported on the bot, also known as PoWBoT, before. Glenn Jooste of Bitcoin Ubuntu is not a programmer, and he built it with AI tools. It serves the Circular Bitcoin Africa Fund, a network of more than 40 Bitcoin circular economies that ties its grants to filmed payments.

A project films a payment at a shop, posts it on X or Nostr and submits it for review. The bot and a human reviewer check each video. If it passes, the bot pays sats over Lightning to the merchant, the project and the reviewer. Between May 2025 and July 2026, 4,853 payments were filmed and approved.

Back at Lugano Plan B with the mini surfboards

Hermann Vivier spoke on the P2P stage at Lugano Plan B, on the theme "making Bitcoin everyday money".

Bitcoin Ekasi also returned with fairdeeds to sell mini surfboards, handmade by KayDee_Ink from old surfboards damaged beyond repair. The boards are part of Vuselela, a partnership between Bitcoin Ekasi and fairdeeds. Proceeds go back into Vuselela to create jobs and support the circular economy.

After the event, Bitcoin Ekasi thanked the organisers and summarised the keynote given by the founder of the Bitcoin Circular Economies project. The keynote argued that circular economies show Bitcoin is already useful as a medium of exchange, and that spending can be a gateway to saving.

The argument is close to one Vivier has made himself. At Africa Bitcoin Conference 2025 he said a circular economy should be judged by how often and how densely people use bitcoin, not by its size. We made a related case in Bitcoin: A Peer‑to‑Peer Cash System.

Mossel Bay's mayor backs Bitcoin adoption

Bitcoin Ekasi shared that Mossel Bay Mayor Dirk Kotze supports Bitcoin adoption. In the project's account, he knows Bitcoin is not a scam or a get‑rich‑quick scheme and sees it as good for community empowerment.

The post adds that educating local politicians is important. The update gives Bitcoin Ekasi's account of the mayor's position and does not quote him directly.

Road Trip 2027 takes shape

Three posts in October filled in the details of the six‑day Garden Route road trip. It runs from 28 February to 5 March 2027, is limited to 20 participants and costs 0.02 BTC.

Bitcoin Ekasi is billed as a highlight, where visitors meet the people involved, visit the community and still get time in the ocean. Bitcoin Plett in Plettenberg Bay is another stop. The group is kept small so the trip feels like a connection with the projects and people visited, not a bus tour.

The trip follows Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town on 26 to 27 February. Our guide to South Africa's Bitcoin circular economy season lists the six stops: Bitcoin Ubuntu in Swellendam, Bitcoin Ekasi, Bitcoin Plett, Bitcoin Sedgefield, Bitcoin Karoo and Bitcoin Witsand.

Named in Blink's recovery bounty

After a 19 September attack on its custodial service, Blink said every affected customer has been made whole. It also announced a 50% bounty on the stolen funds.

Of anything recovered, 25% goes to whoever supplies the information. Another 25% goes to Bitcoin Beach, Bitcoin Ekasi, Afribit Kibera and the circular economies they choose. Blink says it is not expecting the money back, so any benefit to the projects is uncertain.

We covered the attack and the bounty in detail in Two‑Factor Is Now Required Above 5 Million Sats. About 6.61 BTC was withdrawn from 24 accounts, and Blink headlines the bounty as up to 3.3 bitcoin. Two of the three named projects are in Africa: Bitcoin Ekasi and Afribit Kibera in Nairobi.