Yo! Coming off Strike’s best year yet, and going into one of the most important years in Bitcoin’s history, I wanted to write a letter to the community summarizing Strike’s 2023 and what we’re focused on for you in 2024.

In 2023, we saw a lot of growth from people both in the US and around the world. These customers just wanted… bitcoin. That’s it. Crazy, right? Nothing insanely complex. Simply put, bitcoin is the best expression of fiat debasement, which negatively impacts everyone on planet Earth. As time goes on, more and more people both in the US and around the world are simply looking to acquire bitcoin from, and use bitcoin with, a company that’s reliable and solely focused on Bitcoin.

For the first time, we saw a lot of customers who wanted to execute institutional-size bitcoin orders with Strike, customers who wanted more bitcoin exchange features, customers who wanted a better bitcoin wallet, customers who wanted us to be more accessible globally, and more. Simply put, more people both in the US and around the world wanted to do more of their bitcoin activity with Strike. We have become one of the best in the world at bitcoin by simply remaining focused on it.

I can’t say this was surprising, but I also can’t say this was always part of the plan. I have to admit, in the early days of Strike, the initial product was focused on moving currencies over the Lightning Network. We were 100% focused on payments, and never in a million years did I think people around the world would want to use Strike as their one-stop bitcoin service. We quite literally weren’t building for that. That has changed completely.

While payments remain an important focus for us, in 2023 there was a pivotal shift in what the world wanted from us and what we wanted to be for the world. As we continued to ship products, expanded our operations to more markets, engaged more with our customers, and witnessed the criminally destructive crash of the wider “crypto” sphere, a greater responsibility and opportunity was presented to us:

Become one of the best in the world at Bitcoin.

One of the best at Bitcoin? What does that mean? When we say that, we mean delivering incredible experiences around the world for buying bitcoin, selling bitcoin, DCAing into bitcoin, payments using bitcoin, bitcoin wallet functionality, global access, Bitcoin APIs, and so on. You know, Bitcoin. How people get it, store it, move it, use it, think about it, relate to it, understand it. Bitcoin.

My dad got me into Bitcoin almost 11 years ago to the day. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d have an opportunity to lead one of the only Bitcoin-focused companies in the world. When I first got involved in Bitcoin, I thought Mt. Gox was laser-focused on Bitcoin for the world. After they collapsed, I thought Coinbase was going to build the best Bitcoin experiences, wallets, and so on for the world, but they seem much more interested in crypto, not Bitcoin. Then I thought FTX had the entire world in the palm of their hand, but it turns out it was just their customers' money. I thought being the best at Bitcoin in the world had been done already, or at least surely not an opportunity the market wanted from Strike. However, in 2023 I was constantly challenging myself: who is more focused on being the best at Bitcoin globally than Strike? Who is better at Bitcoin than we are? Over 2023 the answer became clear to me: Nobody.

As a company, this revelation comes with a profound sense of excitement, as this mission aligns with all I’ve ever cared about as an adult and where we want to see the world go as a business. Being one of the best in the world at Bitcoin necessitates a deep sense of focus and gravity; we understand the immense responsibility resting on us and the expectations from you as our customer. We believe this mission to be one of the most important in the world, a belief that fuels our dedication and sharpens our resolve.

Alright, putting the emotional pen down and picking up the product pen. Here’s a recap of our 2023 highlights and our 2024 look-ahead for what’s planned this quarter!

2023 Recap

Operating On Our Own Infrastructure

In June of 2023, we announced a transition to our own infrastructure.

To strengthen our customer experience and further our mission, we recognized the necessity of further owning and operating our services on our own infrastructure. This decision encompassed a lot: engineering, security, product, and a lot of licensing. The journey, a culmination of years of dedicated effort, has been challenging but immensely rewarding. The proof of work has proven its value as we now have far more control over the Bitcoin experiences we provide worldwide.

Here is a diagram encompassing how Strike works from a high level:

When using Strike, you are using a combination of:

• Our bitcoin wallet infrastructure (on-chain services, Lightning services, etc.)
• Our global fiat ramps (ACH, wires, direct deposit, cards, mobile money, etc.)
• Our global fiat banks (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.)
• Our bitcoin custody infrastructure (cold storage wallet, hot wallet, BTC/LN Node Federation)
• Our institutional-level trading partners (global OTC desks)
• Our regulated, licensed entities in multiple regions of the world (US, El Salvador, etc.)

We’re thrilled about this transition and can already see the satisfaction in the growth from you all! Going forward, operating on our own infrastructure also allows us to move extremely quickly without compromising on the quality of our products. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve been SHIPPING.

The Best Place To Buy Bitcoin

As I mentioned above, in 2023 we invested heavily in ensuring we are one of the best places in the world to buy and sell bitcoin. We have more work to do, as we always will, but we’re off to a great start.

Strike now offers ACH, cards, wires, and direct deposit on-ramps to our US customers all on our own infrastructure. In the US, we grew our banking connectivity to approximately 90% of eligible banks. Outside of the US, we kicked things off by offering card on-ramps and our fiat-over-lightning off-ramps for markets where we are available (I discuss in more detail below how we plan on adding more markets, bank transfers, mobile money, and physical cash points as payment methods).

Now, Strike customers can buy as little as a penny or as much bitcoin as they’d like. Looking to buy a large amount of BTC? You can wire transfer as much as you’d like into your account, buy as much bitcoin as you’d like, and withdraw as much as you’d like to your custody. New to Bitcoin and looking to get started with a $10 weekly DCA? Simply link your bank account and confirm.

Also, there seems to be some confusion around our limits in the US. Below is a simple breakdown of our limits (I also discuss below how we are launching our new limit system in Q1):

• Wire transfers — No limits
• Direct Deposit — No limits
• ACH — Subject to limits
• Cards — Subject to limits

If you’d like adjustments to your limits, feel free to DM me or reach out to our team. All of our loyal customers have instant ACH and no limits! We are releasing our new limits system soon, as I explain below, but don’t hesitate to contact me before then.

Lastly, we also launched Strike Private, our white-glove service where we partner with clients to achieve their Bitcoin goals. Our clients are mainly HNWIs, family offices, businesses, and institutions looking to acquire or sell large amounts of bitcoin. If you’re a customer of Strike Private, you know the man behind the mask is me! It’s been a joy and an honor to be a reliable, trustworthy, and performant bitcoin partner for large amounts of capital around the world. You can contact me at private@strike.me if you’re looking for a dedicated Bitcoin partner!

The Best Bitcoin & Lightning Wallet

In 2023 we also invested heavily in becoming an incredible Bitcoin & Lightning Network wallet.

We improved our on-chain wallet by building on-chain tiers. We wanted to ensure that when the mempool gets tough, our users don’t get hurt. With Strike, you can manage on-chain fees on your terms. When a user initiates an on-chain payment with Strike, they are given three options for both fees and speed of settlement: Priority, Standard, and Flexible:

• Priority is the most expensive but also the fastest option
• Standard is fairly quick and less expensive
• Flexible is free but may take a while if you’re willing to wait.

We’ve seen a lot of growth in our wallet usage as Strike has become an incredible way to manage your bitcoin. I’m very proud to be able to offer the ability for our customers to purchase as much bitcoin as they’d like and then withdraw it to self-custody for free, using our own infrastructure!

We also greatly improved our Lightning wallet. With Strike, we now support:

• Lightning Address. Every Strike user gets a Lightning address when they create an account. Check yours in your profile! You can both send to other Lightning addresses and receive to your Lightning address.
• Zero-value Invoices. Zero-value invoices are Lightning Network invoices that are created without an amount, allowing the sender to specify the amount when sending. Strike users can now both pay zero-value invoices and create zero-value invoices.
• Fiat over Lightning. Strike enables customers to both send and receive either fiat currencies or stablecoins over Lightning. You can make Lightning payments with your fiat or stablecoins, and you can receive Lightning payments as fiat or stablecoins.
• Shopping over Lightning. Strike now has a native Bitrefill integration in-app that allows our customers to shop over Lightning with their fiat/stablecoin balance or their bitcoin balance.

Pretty incredible! We’ll always have work to do, but we made some incredible progress in 2023. Tiered on-chain payments and a powerful Lightning wallet combined with global on/off ramps make for an incredible offering.

Global Expansion

Entering new markets has been our top request as a company. In 2023, our customers finally started seeing the fruits of our labor to make Strike more accessible globally. We have a lot more in store, but 2023 was a phenomenal start.

We obtained an additional license in El Salvador in 2023, and launched the Strike wallet in over 65 new countries outside of the US. That list can be found here. The initial product consisted of our Bitcoin + Lightning wallet and stablecoins as a fiat currency replacement. Later on in the year, we enabled buying bitcoin in these markets via our card rails, enabling Strike to be used to buy bitcoin in a lot of countries around the world!

The new activity we see on Strike amazes me. Strike users can now P2P each other globally, and receive fiat, stablecoins, or bitcoin. Pretty awesome.

Some of our top countries by total users:

• Australia
• South Korea
• Mexico

Our bitcoin transaction volume leader:

• South Korea
• Ecuador
• Mexico

Top buy bitcoin volume leaders:

• Australia
• Dominican Republic
• New Zealand

Top cross-border Strike P2P Payments:

• US -> El Salvador
• US -> Argentina
• US -> Mexico

Incredible Design

“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.”

Design plays a pivotal role in shaping our world. To us, design is how it looks, how it feels, and how it works. The entire experience. We figured if we were going to deliver incredible Bitcoin experiences to the world, design needs to be a focus at Strike. Also, to be frank, Strike also needed an upgrade.

We wanted Strike to feel punk, unconventional, beautiful, bitcoin, and open. So, internally we upgraded our design at Strike. Check out some of these visuals.

Here is the old Strike versus the new Strike:

Here are some fun behind the scenes things.

Moodboard:

Fun stuff:

2024 Going Forward

Transparency

Transparency is the currency of trust. I think this is an area where we can further improve as a company. Here are some areas you can expect to see more from us this quarter.

Pricing

We want to make sure our pricing is as easy to understand as possible. To that end, we’re developing a new pricing model that will provide clear, straightforward pricing that aligns with the needs of both Strike and the community. As we move forward with our commitment to providing the best possible experience in Bitcoin, we believe these improvements will foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of how we support customers.

Blog

You can expect more of these! We launched the Strike blog so that we can have a more open dialogue with the community. Yes, the blog will consist of product updates, as I think it’s important you all know how we’re thinking about things and what we’re working on. However, that shouldn’t be it. We have one of the most talented teams in the world; I want the community to get to know them and the work that goes into building a global Bitcoin company from scratch. You can expect blogs about our technology, product, design, security, and more!

Let us know what interests you most about Strike, we’d love to share more with you.

Podcast

In 2023 we launched the Money Matters podcast, a show hosted by myself and my best friend Dylan. We had Jack Dorsey, Saquon Barkley, Dave Portnoy, Paul Saladino, and Roya Mahboob as guests in our first 5 episodes. It’s been a ton of fun and the response has been great.

The main feedback we’ve gotten to date? Guests now and then are cool, but you all want to hear more from us. You want to hear more about Bitcoin. You want more episodes more frequently. I get that. I fucking love that. Heard loud and clear.

So, we are launching Monday Mailbags on the Money Matters podcast. On Mondays, Dylan and I will read the internet “mail” and chat about all things Bitcoin for about an hour. Once a week, one episode, all year. The first Monday Mailbag drops this Monday the 29th! Have something you’d like us to talk about? Let us know! I’m looking forward to ranting about Bitcoin, macroeconomics, engineering, politics, and whatever else going on in the world with y’all this year.

Limits

Better Limits. Better Limits. Better Limits.

That’s all Strike customers want. We heard you loud and clear. Limits are not easy, especially globally, as the fiat system is such a broken mess. However, we are up for the challenge.

Our new and improved limits system drops this quarter. We can’t wait to give it to you. It’s designed to get you into Bitcoin and using Bitcoin as much as you’d like and as fast as possible no matter where you are in the world and what currency you give us. Our job is to help you get in and get out of this new monetary system. We don’t want to get in your way.

In the meantime, while we’re building, let me know if you need any limits help with Strike. I’m happy to help you buy and move as much bitcoin as you’d like! You can DM me on Twitter or email me at private@strike.me

Global Expansion

When Strike Africa? When Strike Europe? When Strike Latin America?

We’re finally coming.

We currently offer Strike in 65+ countries with card on-ramps, but that’s not nearly enough. There are markets we aren’t in, payment methods we don’t support, and currencies we don’t yet have.

We are actively working on three new regions to expand Strike into in Q1. We want to add local bank transfers, mobile money, physical cash points, and more. How many new regions will launch in Q1? We’ll see. No promises. However, we plan to launch our first in about 2-4 weeks! We will cover a lot of ground as fast as we can all 2024.

New

What else would you want to see from Strike? The added transparency in our products, the new limits system, global expansion, and more are all Q1 plans for us. We have some thoughts as to what will come next but I’d like to hear from you. We've seen requests for custody products, lending products, and more.

You know, I recently began living on bitcoin. I now own no dollars. It has been incredible. I think we can start a Boston Tea Party type movement there if the UX is great. Would you all be interested in Strike+ where you pay monthly for a full-featured live on bitcoin premium experience? Bill pay, waived fees, direct deposit, and more. Nowadays, I think I would.

Anyway, let us know. All of your feedback and thoughts matter a lot to us. It’s how we get better and support you!

Thanks

Thank you! Thank you for being a customer, thank you for the support, thank you for the feedback, thank you for it all. We are extremely grateful and excited to be working on Bitcoin and working towards being one of the best at Bitcoin for you all.

Despite the emotions and the magnitude of the mission ahead, we feel unequivocally ready at Strike. There’s resilience in our spirit, a readiness to face any challenges, and a commitment to do whatever it takes to ensure the world has a business focused solely on Bitcoin. This mix of drive, focus, and passion is not just a passing phase; it’s a driving force, propelling us forward in the nucleus of what is becoming one of the most vital chapters of Bitcoin’s inevitable journey.

Alright, I’m out! Keep the feedback coming, it’s how we get better. We will win.

Much love,

Jack