Strike Announced Shopify Integration for Bitcoin Lightning Payments
Strike CEO Jack Mallers unveiled a number of high-profile partnerships for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on Thursday.
Strike CEO Jack Mallers announced at Bitcoin 2022 that the company has partnered with three of the world’s largest payments providers, Shopify, NCR and Blackhawk Network to bring Bitcoin (BTC) payments at stores in the U.S. He explained that the integration removes legacy banks from the payments process, saving merchants on fees and enabling privacy for shoppers.
Mallers explained:
“You’re gonna be able to walk into a grocery store, to Whole Foods, to a Chipotle, if you want to use a Lightning node over Tor, you do that. Any online merchant that uses Shopify can accept payments without the 1949 boomer (credit card) network, receive it instantly, cash final, no intermediary, no 3% fee.”
Speaking at the Miami Beach Conference Center main stage, Mallers, an avid Bitcoin and Lightning Network advocate, said his “King’s Gambit” would bring Bitcoin back to its payments roots.
“If we can help make the Bitcoin network more accessible and usable we believe we can change the world.”
The announcement is a major innovation for merchants to be able to interact with the Bitcoin network and in users’ ability to privately and permissionless make purchases throughout the country. Now, they will be able to take advantage of the cheap, instant and open access offered by Bitcoin.
He said Strike would partner with Shopify’s global network of merchants to allow for payments across the Bitcoin Lightning network – for those merchants who want to opt in.
Mallers shared an image as part of the presentation listing McDonald’s, Walmart, Walgreens and more U.S. franchises as places where the Strike integration will be useable.
He said:
“This is about America and we need to protect our ability to innovate.”
Mallers also revealed that he has been working with Senator Cynthia Lummis to make sure that in the United States of America we support an open payment standard and it isn’t threatened by anybody else.
