Strike CEO Jack Mallers stated that the company announced a partnership agreement with Shopify in order to facilitate bitcoin-to–cash payments via the Lightning Network.
The setup is now live with Warren Lotas (streetwear designer from Los Angeles), with plans to add more merchants over the next few months, Mallers stated at the Bitcoin 2022 conference.
Mallers rail against the ‘boomeristic credit card system that was created when ‘rich men’ didn’t want cash to buy caviar at high end Manhattan restaurants. Instead, they suggested bitcoin as a way to solve fees, transfer times, and settlement problems that plague traditional financial systems.
Strike, a digital payment platform built on the Lightning network, has expanded to allow in-person transactions via Lightning. This can be connected using a user’s preferred bitcoin wallet. To facilitate these transactions, the company has partnered with NCR point-of-sale provider NCR and Blackhawk alternative payments processor.
Mallers dressed casually in his trademark hat and presented himself as “just this kid from Chicago” in stark contrast to the more formal CEOs of traditional finance.
Mallers stated that payment networks have not innovated in more than 50 years. ‘That’s insane…that’s ridiculous.’
Mallers also worked with prominent political figures, such as Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), to “get it done.”
The plan is to offer bitcoin payments in person at a number of retailers including Chipotle and Whole Foods.
It’s not known if the companies have accepted the proposal, or if there has been any reaction from payment processors who rely on fees to move money. The transaction of Strike, which is instant settled, reduces the number of parties to five: the buyer or the seller.
Mallers stated that anyone can build anything. Mallers said, “Anyone can build any thing.”