Onramp Is Now Live: The Easiest Way to Buy USDC on Base or Celo

Onramp is now live

You can now buy USDC (and USDT where supported) using mobile money and receive it on Base or Celo — the same networks creators and apps already use. No card-only exchange, no week-long KYC just to top up a small amount.

Why this matters

Most people in Kenya and the wider region already live on mobile money. M-Pesa and Airtel Money are how you pay rent, send money to family, and run a business. The gap has been the other direction: getting dollar-denominated stablecoins when you do not have easy access to international cards or traditional crypto onramps.

• Dollar access: USDC in your own wallet is a way to hold and move value in dollars, without taking a detour through opaque fees on informal channels.
• Same rails as the rest of Minisend: You can onramp, hold, earn yield where available, and offramp back to M-Pesa or your bank when you need local currency.
• Built for the way you pay: The payment is completed from the SIM you already use — the same pattern that made mobile money dominant across East Africa.

Onramp is not a gimmick; it is the missing local currency in, stablecoin out path for anyone who is ready to use Base or Celo but does not want the friction of global-only exchanges.

What you need

• A self-custody or app wallet address on Base or Celo (the app will ask you for the address you want to receive USDC on).
• A phone number that can pay with M-Pesa and/or Airtel Money, with enough KES in the account for the amount you want to buy (plus any network or service fee shown before you confirm).
• A few minutes to complete a payment prompt on your handset.

If you are new to receiving crypto, double-check that your wallet is on the same network you select in Minisend (Base or Celo) before you paste the address. Sending to the wrong chain can mean funds do not show where you expect.

The high-level flow

1. Open Minisend and start the onramp (buy) flow.
2. Enter the phone number you will pay from (M-Pesa or Airtel line).
3. Enter the amount in local currency and confirm the quote (rate and fees are shown up front).
4. Paste the wallet address that should receive USDC on Base or Celo.
5. Approve the mobile money payment on your phone when prompted.
6. Receive stablecoins in your wallet — usually in a short time after the payment clears.

Exact labels in the app may vary slightly, but the sequence is always: quote → address → pay from phone → receive onchain.

Step by step: paying with M-Pesa

These steps describe what you will typically do in the flow when you pay with M-Pesa (Safaricom).

1. In Minisend, choose to buy or onramp and pick M-Pesa (or the option that uses your Safaricom line) as the payment method.
2. Enter the KES amount you want to convert, or the USDC amount you want to receive — the app will show the other side of the trade.
3. Enter your M-Pesa phone number in 2547XXXXXXXX format (or as the form requests). This should be the number that will receive the STK Push or payment request.
4. Paste your Base or Celo recipient address carefully. If your wallet has a name or label for the network, match it to Base or Celo as you chose in the app.
5. Confirm the transaction summary: amount, fee, and estimated USDC.
6. When prompted, approve the M-Pesa payment on your phone. You may get an STK Push, a paybill / till style prompt, or another Safaricom flow — complete it before it times out.
7. Wait for confirmation in the app. Once the M-Pesa side clears, USDC is sent to your address. Check your wallet on Base or Celo to see the balance update.

Tip: Use a stable network and keep the SIM active until the payment completes. If a push fails, you can usually retry from the app without starting from zero, depending on the session.

Step by step: paying with Airtel Money

If you pay with Airtel Money (Airtel), the same idea applies, with your Airtel line as the source of funds.

1. In Minisend, start the onramp and select Airtel Money (or the Airtel option) when the app asks how you will pay.
2. Enter the KES amount and confirm the USDC you will get, including fees.
3. Enter your Airtel mobile number in the format the form requires so the charge can be routed to the correct wallet.
4. Add your Base or Celo wallet address and confirm the network matches.
5. Submit the request. You will usually need to approve the debit on your phone — for example a PIN or confirmation in the Airtel menu or a push, depending on how the integration is presented.
6. After Airtel Money confirms, Minisend will send USDC to your address. Verify in your wallet on the right chain.

Tip: If you use both Safaricom and Airtel, pick the line that has the KES you want to spend and the better signal; failed PIN attempts or timeouts are easier to avoid on a clear connection.

After you receive USDC

You can hold USDC in your wallet, use it in Farcaster or other apps on Base, move to other supported services, or when you are ready, use Minisend to offramp back to M-Pesa or a bank. The point of onramp is to make the first step from shillings to stablecoins as ordinary as any other mobile money purchase.

Try it out

Open Minisend and start the onramp