Strike App Makes Bitcoin Lightning Payments Easy
Payments on the Bitcoin network might seem a distant fantasy to some, but with Strike payment app the reality has brought the future forward.
Strike API enables interaction with the Bitcoin and Lightning protocols and allows users to send and receive Bitcoin from their bank.
A Strike user doesn’t even need a wallet, seed, channels, or liquidity to start using it, and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols are kept to a bare minimum.
Developed by Zap Lightning Wallet developer Jack Mallers, Strike was launched back in January 2020, and the iPhone and Android app along with the Chrome version makes it easy for anyone to start using Lightning Network.
The Lightning Network is difficult and complex for the average user, and it requires setting up specialist computer equipment.
And with such a large barrier to entry, Lightning Network is struggling to get meaningful traction, but with Strike it’s making it much more accessible.
Mallers, a known Bitcoin advocate and prominent developer, has always been vocal for wanting to help make Bitcoin mainstream.
Last year, he announced his intention to develop a platform offering instant debit card Bitcoin purchases via the Lightning Network.
Strike is the result of that work, but the application he offers goes way beyond the original design
As well as being used as an online debit card, Strike allows for remittances, personal payments, micropayments and online and offline purchases.
The Bitcoin payment app also comes with a strike.me social media profile, which lets users accept free payments from anywhere in the world via an online QR code.
Can’t wait forever for Coinbase to improve Bitcoin infrastructure
Frustrated by the Coinbases of the Bitcoin world, Mallers wanted to bring a fairer and more open buying options for people wanting to buy and use Bitcoin.
Speaking of his frustration at the lack of development for Bitcoin payments, Mallers said,
‘Do we wait for Coinbase and BitPay to come around to Lightning? Leave it up to the closed-source elites that have misrepresented bitcoin for years to take the baton and run to the finish line? No. F*** that.’
Mallers has always had the Libertarian ethos, and wanted to offer something not too invasive, but working in a highly regulated world, Strike has had to bow down to the Know Your Customer (KYC) standards.
Although, the devloper says he has kept it to a minimum. ‘The last thing I want is to introduce a new demographic of users to Bitcoin, only to have them treated as criminals as soon as they download Strike,’ said Mallers.
So Mallers worked tirelessly with his legal team to work around the KYC requirements and keep them to a minimum. This has resulted in the company requiring the bare minimum of a name and phone number.
However, this is only because of the nature of the payments. With a low transaction average, this level of KYC is fine, but if the value of transactions grows, then the US government will no doubt demand more stringent KYC.
Mallers has Big Plans for Strike
Although the payment application is in its early days it is proving to be successful, and Maller has big plans for the future.
An actual Strike VISA debit card is being muted, along with a rewards program through partnered merchants and referrals.
Strike has also been developing an API to provide merchants with tools to process contactless payments, and an improved e-commerce system is also being rolled out.
There’s also a woocommerce plugin that is being trialled in testnet now, so any blogger who would like to trial the app, can do so by visiting the website and downloading the plugin file.
