SaruTobi Returns with Real Bitcoin Rewards on iOS

I remember playing SaruTobi years ago, flinging that pixelated monkey through the air, trying to beat my high score. Back then, it felt like just another quirky mobile game. But now, it is doing something no other iOS game has managed yet—bringing real Bitcoin microtransactions into gameplay. That same monkey is back, and now it pays you in sats.

Good to know

• SaruTobi is the first iOS game to allow Bitcoin microtransactions using ZBD’s Lightning tech.
• Apple reversed its old crypto stance after new rules in the EU and Epic v. Apple court pressure.
• Players can earn and spend sats during gameplay, or withdraw them using the ZBD app.

SaruTobi has made a quiet return to the App Store, and it is not just about nostalgia. Thanks to ZBD’s Lightning integration, players can earn real Bitcoin (sats) and spend it directly in the game on items like retries, boosts, or even new skins. No need to exit the app. Everything happens in-game, instantly.

Originally released in 2014, SaruTobi was pulled from the App Store a year later. Apple had concerns about users mistaking in-game Bitcoin for real currency. But nearly a decade later, things have changed. Legal shifts like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and rulings against Apple in the Epic Games case have pushed the company to allow more flexible in-app payment systems.

Now back with full Bitcoin support, SaruTobi is once again doing something new. It creates a circular game economy where players collect sats while playing and can use or withdraw them at any time. Because the game uses the Lightning Network, even tiny transactions—down to a few cents—are fast and feel frictionless.

ZBD’s co-founder André Neves put it clearly: “With Bitcoin, developers can now create payments that are instant, programmable, and borderless down to the cent or less.” In a world where most mobile games rely on large bundles or expensive subscriptions, this opens the door to a different kind of game economy—one where payments feel as fast and casual as gameplay itself.

SaruTobi also holds a special place in NFT history. Before Ethereum NFTs took over, it supported early blockchain collectibles from projects like Rarepepe and Spells of Genesis. Those tokens unlocked in-game features and even crossed over with other games—years before the idea of metaverse interoperability became popular.

Now that Apple has allowed SaruTobi’s comeback with full crypto support, other developers may follow. We might soon see a wave of new games where players are not just consumers but participants in the economy.

So, would you rather keep spending on power-ups you can never get back—or earn sats while doing it instead?