Bitcoin Payments Firm Strike Expands Operations in New Countries

• Strike’s global expansion took around two and a half years.
• The payments firm CEO Jack Mallers announced the update during Bitcoin 2023 in Miami.

On Friday, the Bitcoin payments firm and remittance app Strike said that it is now accessible to download in dozens of more countries, bringing the total number of individuals who can use it to more than 3 billion.

Wallet users in India, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and other countries will soon be able to send and receive payments in USD and BTC thanks to the expansion into new markets. At Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, Strike CEO Jack Mallers said the business was focusing on reaching those who had the greatest need for improved payment methods and technologies.

Banking on Lightning Network

Bhutan, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, New Zealand, Paraguay, and Uganda were among the unending list of 47 supported nations given during Mallers’ presentation, joining previously announced additions such as Argentina, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Strike uses the Bitcoin lightning network to provide instant Bitcoin and US dollar-based international money transfers inside these nations. Lightning is a layer 2 network that avoids Bitcoin’s base chain fees, which may go too high at peak times and render even relatively minor transactions unfeasible.

Strike’s global expansion took around two and a half years, during which time the company collaborated with the Bitcoin Office of El Salvador to establish a framework for licensing Bitcoin businesses.

The country was the first outside the US to back Strike, and it is currently home to Mallers’ business E4’s headquarters. Instead of utilizing a QR code, users may now set up an email-like identification called a “Lightning Address” to receive Bitcoin through lightning.