Buying Land in Kenya With Bitcoin or USDT: How Paying in Crypto Works at Famyard

More and more Kenyans abroad hold part of their savings in crypto, and sending it home through a bank can mean several days and several fees. So Famyard now accepts Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT for plots.

Paying in crypto changes how the money moves, not how the land is bought. The plot, the search, the sale agreement and the title process are exactly the same.

The short version

• The price is in Kenya shillings. You agree the KES price as usual. Crypto is only the way you pay it.
• The rate is set when you pay. We confirm how much BTC or USDT equals the amount due at that moment, and the quote is valid for a short time.
• Your receipt is in shillings. Each payment is recorded in KES against your sale agreement, the same as a bank transfer.
• The usual checks apply. You show your ID and, for larger amounts, where the money comes from, just as a bank would ask.

Why we added crypto

Most of the people who ask us about paying in crypto live abroad. They earn in dollars, pounds, dirhams or euros, and some already keep part of their savings in USDT because it is easy to hold and move. Sending that money home through a bank usually means converting it, paying a transfer fee, waiting a few working days, and sometimes losing more on the exchange rate than expected.

With crypto, the payment can arrive the same day, and you can see it on the blockchain while it moves. For a buyer paying a deposit to hold a plot, that speed matters. Plots in the estates people ask about most can be booked within days of a launch.

We want buying land with Famyard to be as easy from Dubai or Boston as it is from Nyeri. Crypto is one more way to do that, alongside bank transfer.

Bitcoin or USDT: which should you use?

Both work. They behave quite differently, so here is how to choose.

USDT (Tether) is a stablecoin. One USDT is designed to stay close to one US dollar, so the amount you send is worth about the same when it arrives. This makes it the simpler choice for land payments, where you want to pay an exact shilling amount. It runs on several networks. TRC-20 (Tron) usually has the lowest fees. ERC-20 (Ethereum) is widely supported but often costs more to send.

Bitcoin (BTC) moves in price, sometimes by several percent in a day. That is fine for a payment, because we quote the amount at the moment you pay and record the shilling value once it is confirmed. Just make sure you have a little more than the quoted amount in your wallet to cover the network fee, and send it within the quote time.

If you are not sure, use USDT on TRC-20 and confirm the network with us on the call before you send.

Step by step

1. Choose your plot. Use the 3D estate plans, a video walk-through or a site visit.
2. Agree the price and sign the offer. The offer letter and sale agreement state the price in KES.
3. Tell us you want to pay in crypto. Call or WhatsApp the office and say which coin, BTC or USDT, and for USDT which network.
4. Get the payment details from us directly. We send the amount and the address through our payment partner, and confirm them with you on a call.
5. Send the payment. Use the exact amount and network. Keep the transaction ID (the hash).
6. Get your receipt. Once the payment is confirmed on the network, we issue a KES receipt against your agreement.
7. Carry on as normal. Land search, transfer, stamp duty and title deed follow the usual process. See our guide from site visit to title deed.

An example

Say the deposit on your plot is KES 300,000 and you want to pay it in USDT. You call or WhatsApp the office and say so. Our payment partner gives you a quote: an amount in USDT, the network, the address, and how long the quote is valid. We confirm the address with you on a call.

You send the exact USDT amount on the agreed network and share the transaction ID with us. When the payment is confirmed on the network, we issue a receipt for KES 300,000 against your sale agreement. The rest of your plot price stays in shillings in the agreement, and you can pay it the same way or by bank transfer.

The figures here are only an example. Your quote shows the real amount on the day.

Before you send: a checklist

• The plot number and price are written in your offer letter or sale agreement.
• You have the quote: amount, coin, network and address, and the quote is still valid.
• The address was confirmed with the office on a call to a number from our website.
• Your wallet or exchange supports that network, and you have enough to cover the network fee.
• You have checked the first and last characters of the address after pasting it.
• You will save the transaction ID and send it to us after paying.

Mistakes to avoid

Mistake	What happens	What to do
Sending USDT on the wrong network	The payment can be lost for good	Confirm the network (for example TRC-20 or ERC-20) before sending
Paying to an address sent by message or email	Scammers copy messages and change the address	Only use an address confirmed with the office on a call to a number from our website
Sending the amount before the quote is confirmed	The KES value may be short	Wait for our quote, then send within its time
Not keeping the transaction ID	Harder to trace the payment	Copy the hash and send it to us
Sending from an exchange that blocks withdrawals to new addresses	Delays	Check your exchange's withdrawal rules first

Never act on new payment details sent by message, whether bank or crypto, without calling the office first. Our page on land buying scams in Kenya explains why.

The rules in Kenya

Kenya passed the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act in 2025, which brings crypto services under the Central Bank of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority and requires the businesses that exchange or hold crypto to be licensed. We take crypto through a payment partner for this reason and don't hold your coins ourselves.

Land sales also fall under Kenya's anti-money laundering law, which is why you are asked for ID and, for larger payments, the source of the funds. Taxes on the transfer, such as stamp duty, are paid in shillings as usual.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay the full price in Bitcoin?

Yes, or part of it. Many buyers pay the deposit in crypto and the balance by bank transfer, or the other way round. Each payment is receipted in KES.

What if the price of Bitcoin moves after I pay?

Once your payment is confirmed it is recorded at the KES amount quoted. Moves in the price afterwards don't change what you have paid.

Can I pay instalments in USDT?

Yes. Each instalment is quoted and receipted in KES on the day you pay it.

Is my title deed any different?

No. The title deed is issued in your name in the usual way. How you paid doesn't appear on it.

Which records should I keep?

Keep the offer letter, the sale agreement, every quote, every transaction ID and every KES receipt we issue. Together they show what you paid, when, and for which plot. You will want them for the title transfer, and if your bank or tax office abroad ever asks where the money went.

What if I send the wrong amount?

Tell us straight away with the transaction ID. If you sent too little, you can send the difference within the quote time, or we receipt what arrived in KES and the balance stays due. If you sent too much, the extra is handled as set out in your sale agreement. Sending on the wrong network is different: those payments often can't be recovered, which is why we confirm the network on the call.

Is crypto legal for buying land in Kenya?

The land itself is bought the normal way, in shillings, under Kenyan land law. Crypto is only the way you send the money, through a payment partner that converts it. The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2025 now regulates the businesses that offer crypto services in Kenya, and those businesses need a licence.

Do you accept other coins?

At the moment Bitcoin and USDT. Ask us if you hold something else.

Ready to pay in crypto?

Pick a plot from our properties, then call or WhatsApp Famyard Enterprises on +254 119 222666 and say you would like to pay in Bitcoin or USDT.