Yo. Today, I’m excited to announce a series of exciting upgrades and new features that significantly enhance the user experience on Strike and make bitcoin more accessible to our customers.

At Strike, our mission is Better Money. Since the founding of Strike, we’ve invested significant resources into being the best at Bitcoin from the ground up. In order to better serve our mission to the world, we know that we need to continue to own, operate, and build leading Bitcoin-focused tools and infrastructure.

Because of this continued work, we’re excited to be able to offer even more services directly to our customers today, enhancing their Bitcoin experience, while reducing counterparty risk.

Today, we bring back services we know Bitcoiners love, and we unveil new features Bitcoiners may have never seen before!

• We now support incoming wire transfers, allowing Strike customers to transfer unlimited funds and buy as much bitcoin as they’d like, all withdrawable immediately.
• We brought back direct deposits. You can now get any portion of your paycheck paid in bitcoin with Strike.
• We’ve expanded our supported payment methods, including debit cards and enhanced bank connectivity support.
• We’ve begun allowing some customers to use Strike with their linked payment method, no longer requiring a deposit first. Make Lightning payment with your debit card, send bitcoin to cold storage with your bank account, and more.

Story

The last year has been chaotic. No, not just in this industry. In the world.

We saw some of the biggest bank failures in the US and the collapse of some of the biggest businesses in “crypto.” Unfortunately, this has introduced a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt into the world of Bitcoin. However, I’d make the argument it has also offered a lot of clarity as well.

Over the last year, it’s become clear that there is Bitcoin, and then there’s everything else. The world has realized FTX was not innovative but rather part of an elaborate scam, that many industry players in “crypto” may be breaking the law, that “crypto” technology like NFTs or Web3 don’t actually have product-market fit, and that poor monetary policy and inflation are real for all of us.

Amid FTX’s billion-dollar fraud scandal, heightened regulatory scrutiny in the crypto market, and insolvency of US banks, people are seeking a trusted, reliable Bitcoin platform. The consensus is that Bitcoin has the regulatory clarity, product-market fit, and network effect to change the world. A “flight to quality” as our newly minted toxic Bitcoin maxi Larry Fink put it.

Hell, while money supply growth is out of control, inflation is running hot, and real rates are negative, Bitcoin is way outperforming Gold! (Don’t tell the Gold bugs, we love y’all!)

Not only have we been incredibly excited about this recent demand, we’ve been expecting it. The world needs a Bitcoin company. We’re up for the challenge.

We believe that with our software, infrastructure, licenses, and continuously expanding suite of products/offerings/services we’re uniquely positioned to serve the needs of billions of people who want access to Bitcoin as Bitcoin continues to demonetize the world. Here’s a quick rundown on what I mean when I say we do it all and try to do it the best:

• Licensing. Strike is one of the most licensed and regulated Bitcoin-only companies in the U.S. As of today, we hold more U.S. money transmitter licenses than Coinbase. I understand not everyone is keen on this topic, but to onboard billions directly, this is the essential proof-of-work required. We’ve put in the regulatory work to be able to build our own tools and our own experience for the Bitcoin future we want to see.
• Security. Our security team and services provide continuous monitoring of data and infrastructure. We regularly undergo third-party security assessments and penetration tests. For those interested in learning more about our data privacy, security capability, or our latest SOC 2 report, check out our Trust Portal.
• Infrastructure & Product. Thanks to our robust regulatory and compliance framework, we are able to manage operations in-house. Whether it’s engineering, design, legal, finance, or customer support, our dedicated team is at the heart of every aspect of our customer’s experience. Due to the hard work over the years, we’re now bringing products to market at a blistering pace.

With that, let’s walk through all of our updates and upgrades to our services for Strike customers!

Wire Transfers

We have received a lot of demand for more ways to get more money into Strike and buy more bitcoin. We heard your feedback loud and clear. We’ve been working on adding more payment methods to better serve and meet the needs of all Bitcoiners, whether you’re looking to buy with one penny or tens of millions of dollars.

You can now deposit an unlimited amount of US dollars into your Strike account via wire transfer, one of our most requested features.

Wires are unlimited, have no incoming fees from us, and are typically available within one business day. For the first time, you can deposit an unlimited amount of U.S. dollars into Strike. Yes, you read that right. Wire transfers on Strike have no limits and the bitcoin purchased with wired funds can be withdrawn immediately. All of it. Immediately.

While other payment methods such as purchasing with a linked bank account or card provide an equally great experience for buying smaller amounts, wire transfers make it easier to purchase and withdraw large sums of bitcoin.

The possibilities are endless. For example, someone could deposit $1 million and DCA hourly. Would be legendary.

Wire transfers on Strike are dead simple:

1. Tap the account icon in the top right to open your Account page
2. Select “Wire transfer” under Banking
3. Provide these details to your bank to initiate a transfer. Strike will generate your specific wire transfer details, including the routing number, account number, and bank information.

If wire transfers aren’t enough for your large orders and you’re looking for expert guidance on all things Bitcoin, we also now offer our white glove service Strike Private. Reach out to us at private@strike.me for a consultation. Whatever your Bitcoin needs are, we’re happy to help.

Direct Deposits

Pay 👏 me 👏 in 👏 bitcoin 👏

Direct Deposit on Strike is back!

Now, anyone can convert any portion of their paycheck into bitcoin, allowing them easy access to save and grow wealth, empowering them economically, and enhancing the quality of their life.

Why does this matter? Inflation is rapidly decreasing the value of our dollars and drastically increasing the cost of our lives. The US dollars that we’re all being paid in are becoming increasingly less valuable, causing the things around us to become increasingly more expensive. Has anyone bought a dozen eggs recently? It’s been a bloodbath at the register over the last few years!

Bitcoin was intentionally engineered to address the inefficiencies of monies prior and optimize its important properties, namely storing value. While inflation is a global problem and our dollars are becoming less valuable, bitcoin has averaged a 67.91% compound annual return, with a 171.37% standard deviation in the last 10 years.

Bitcoin has emerged as the best-performing, most advanced, and most accessible money and savings vehicle in human history.

The bottom line, unless you’re getting a massive raise every year, it’s hard to keep up with inflation. No matter how hard you work, if you only get dollars in exchange, you’ll get less in your life over time. The solution? Get paid in Miami real estate? Direct deposit gold dust into your phone?

Nah. Get paid in bitcoin.

On Strike, it’s simple to start getting a portion of your paycheck in bitcoin:

1. Tap the account icon in the top right to open your Account page
2. Tap “Direct deposit”
3. Share the provided banking details with your employer
4. Tap “Get paid in bitcoin”
5. Set your desired allocation between dollars and bitcoin

Card Deposits

You can now seamlessly link your debit card to your Strike account! It’s literally never been easier to link a payment method and fund your account. You no longer need to rely on your bank’s ACH processes while Bitcoin is pumping. We’re thrilled to announce we’ve built card infrastructure internally at Strike. Linking your debit card is just a few simple steps:

1. Tap the account icon in the top right to open your Account page
2. Tap Payment methods
3. Tap Add method
4. Select Debit card
5. Follow the instructions to link your card

Once you’ve linked your debit card, you can deposit USD. We’ve also begun allowing customers to smash buy bitcoin directly from their debit card without needing to deposit money first. This will roll out slowly over the coming weeks.

One of the most seamless ways to buy bitcoin!

Enhanced Banking Connectivity

Making Bitcoin accessible to as many people as possible means allowing people to fund their accounts from a variety of bank accounts. We heard you loud and clear: Strike didn’t support your bank/credit union and/or you didn’t want to log into your bank via Strike.

While we already make it easy to instantly link an account from a major bank, some banks require additional steps to authenticate accounts. We are now rolling out support for approximately 90% of eligible banks! Going forward, customers will be able to manually link their bank account with their account and routing number.

The USD must leave the banking system and flow into the bitcoin network.

This feature is rolling out over the next few weeks to ensure the best possible experience. Be on the lookout!

Using Strike With Your Linked Bank Or Card

We have begun rolling out the ability for Strike users to use Strike directly from their linked bank account and debit card without the need to deposit cash first.

🤯

There are many use cases for this:

• Remit money over the Lightning Network from your debit card or bank
• Smash buy and DCA bitcoin directly from your debit card or bank account without needing to deposit
• Send bitcoin to cold storage directly from your debit card or bank account

DCA With My Linked Bank Account

I don’t need USD on Strike to buy or set up a DCA! Here I set up a daily recurring purchase directly from my bank account.

Making A Lightning Payment With My Bank Account

I can now make Lightning payments from my Chase account! I love this feature because I don’t have to spend my bitcoin or incur a taxable event to use Lightning.

Here I use our Bitrefill feature and checkout over Lightning with my bank account linked to Strike.

Buying And Sending Bitcoin To Cold Storage From My Bank Account

This one is mindblowing.

I can now tell Strike to pull money out of my bank, turn that money into bitcoin, and send that bitcoin to my custody, all in one step.

🤯🤯🤯

This is the first time I’ve purchased bitcoin with such minimal counterparty risk. I did not have to store my US dollars anywhere, and Strike did not hold my bitcoin.

Straight from dollars in my custody to bitcoin in my custody. This is the way!

Thanks

Strike may have started as a Lightning toy, but it has turned into a Bitcoin beast. Honestly, I can’t say it was all part of the plan, but I just don’t trust anyone else to do Bitcoin for the world better than we can. I don’t trust the frauds, I don’t trust the scammers, I don’t trust the shitcoiners, I don’t trust the legacy finance suits, and so on.

At Strike, we now have:

• Bitcoin and Lightning wallet infrastructure
• On and off-ramp infrastructure:
  • USD
  • Wire transfers
  • Bank deposits
  • Direct deposits
  • Card deposits
  • Buy & sell bitcoin
  • DCA bitcoin
• Payments infrastructure
  • Global P2P
  • Lightning Address
  • Fiat/stablecoins over Lightning
• Global
  • Strike App available in 65+ markets
  • Regulated US entity
  • Regulated El Salvador entity
  • Other developments we’ll announce soon!

Pound for pound, is there a better Bitcoin platform?

Don’t answer that. We know we have more to do, we always will. However, we’re proud of the Bitcoin experience we have to offer the world and so excited that we’re still only scratching the surface of all we have planned for Bitcoin.

“Jack, I don’t live in the US. I can’t use these features. WTF?!?!”

I know, I know. I can already see all of the replies behind my notifications tab. For those of you not in the US, you’re next. It’s been a journey, but we are coming. We want to have as many markets and as many on/off ramps as possible.

Lastly, thank you for all of the continued support. To our customers, thank you for using Strike when you Bitcoin. We care deeply about our customers, and we care deeply about delivering people a Better Money experience all over the world. What a journey this continues to be for us all.

If you have feedback, ideas, insights, or anything else you’d want us to know, feel free to reach out to us at support@strike.me or just tag Strike or myself on Twitter/Nostr. We want to hear from you and we’ll be here to listen, help, and keep building.

Onwards and upwards.

Jack