Strike Expands Reach, Moves HQ to El Salvador

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Since its inception in 2019, Strike had one goal in mind – to become the Venmo or Cash App globally, but for crypto payments. Things haven’t been always easy for the company led by 29-year old Jack Mallers. He was always hoping for global crypto adoption so his app could reach users all around the globe. Strike is now one step closer to that dream after expanding its reach in 65 new countries.

And not just that. The company decided to move its headquarters to El Salvador, the world’s first country that made Bitcoin legal. A consumer-facing app, Strike’s team hopes that people love an app with such characteristics in contrast to a world of cryptocurrency that’s clouded and hidden.

A New Milestone

As Mallers explained in a recent interview, Strike is a consumer-facing app that people have been looking for. Just like Venmo and similar cash apps, Strike offers similar capabilities but for crypto payments. It validates Bitcoin as a payment method at a time when cryptocurrencies are facing a hard time in the USA. Mallers says that it’s amazing how Bitcoin stands alone and is owned by nobody. Every other financial instrument has an owner and can be considered among securities.

The US watchdog led by Gary Gensler has repeatedly stated that Bitcoin is a commodity rather than security. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is strictly against crypto trading firms, taking a jab at several in the past couple of years. Strike may soon be on that list, but Mallers has a solution. He doesn’t want the SEC breathing down his neck, and is taking a regulation-first approach. The app is currently unavailable in New York, but in the process of obtaining a BitLicence. Once it gets it, the app will go live in New York to millions of consumers.

Strike’s team has been working on expanding its reach, and it finally came last week. The app opened up to 65 new global markets and moved its headquarters in El Salvador. The South American country passed a new crypto law earlier this year which established a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. That was a big decision in Strike’s move, which got one of the first licenses in the country together with Bitfinex.

More Work to be Done

Strike’s next step in El Salvador is to partner up with banks and let users exchange Bitcoin for fiat money and vice versa. At the moment, El Salvador residents can only trade Bitcoin between each other.

Mallers is good pals with El Salvador’s Bitcoin-friendly president Nayib Bukele. He introduced him on the Bitcoin Miami Conference in 2021. Initially, El Salvador tapped strike to help develop the BTC experiment. However, early bugs resulted in the company retreating from the project. Years later, Strike is back in El Salvador, and this time it’s there to stay.

Besides trying to partner up with banks which will prove a challenge, Strike is always working hard to deliver new features. One of them will be a debit card which might launch later this year. Now in El Salvador, it can experiment with all kinds of features which will help the company grow and reach its ultimate goal.

May 23, 2023: • No Comments

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