Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, announced at the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami that his company has partnered with Shopify, NCR, and Blackhawk Network. These payment providers work with the majority of major U.S. companies like McDonald’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Home Depot, Best Buy, Chipotle, Starbucks, Whole Foods, and more.

Mallers shared a video of himself making purchases at a grocery store with three different payment methods. By using Zap, Cash App, and Muun Wallet to pay via QR code, Mallers demonstrates how the consumer is able to pay in any method they want through the Lightning network. This enables shoppers to pay with privacy and allows for merchants to save on the 3% fee charged by credit card processors.

With this announcement, Strike now offers a method for people in the U.S. to transact with their Bitcoin that does not require making Bitcoin legal tender. These partnerships allow users to pay for products and services with their Bitcoin over Lightning while the merchant accepts the payment in U.S. dollars. This makes filing taxes much more manageable for both the consumer and merchant.

During last year’s Bitcoin 2021 Conference, Mallers and President Nayib Bukele announced that El Salvador was developing legislation to make Bitcoin legal tender in the coming months. Mallers and his company continue to garner a reputation for innovating the payments space with Lightning. To ensure that innovation in the industry continues, Mallers also announced on stage that his team and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) are working on legislation to support Lightning. Strike and Lumis plan to keep Lightning as an open payment standard in the U.S. so that anyone can use it.

There is currently no announcement for payment processor partnerships outside of the U.S. at this time.

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