Chicago-based Bitcoin payment provider, Strike, has expanded its services to 65 countries and relocated its global headquarters to El Salvador. Before this expansion, the mobile app was only operational in the United States, El Salvador, and Argentina. Jack Mallers, the CEO, and founder of Zap, Strike’s parent company, said that the expansion aims to counter the “clouded world of crypto exchanges and hidden, unregistered licensing regimes and 1,000 different coins.” He revealed that the move to relocate its headquarters was a response to the growing anti-crypto regulatory sentiments in the U.S. On one hand, regulations prevent Strike from offering its service in New York. On the other hand, El Salvador introduced crypto-inclusive regulations to attract technological innovations in the region.
During the discussion, Mallers spoke about El Salvador’s success in establishing Bitcoin as a legal tender. He believed that merchant adoption “wasn’t what was defining success.” Instead, he weighed El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption success in terms of other factors including increased tourism. Strike will initially allow users in the new global markets to only receive Bitcoin, however, Mallers revealed plans to launch new features by the end of the year, including a debit card. For markets outside the US, Strike will enable U.S. dollar payments via Tether (USDT).
Strike and crypto exchange Bitfinix were among the first crypto companies to bag operational licenses in El Salvador. El Salvador’s Digital Asset Service provider license allows Bitfinex Securities “to facilitate the issuance and secondary trading of assets” with clearly defined rights and obligations in the jurisdiction.
About the author - J-S Tremblay
I've been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2016 and trading since 2019. I started Moon and Lambo in 2021. I'm passionate about crypto and love to share my knowledge. I hate bankers and I hope that cryptocurrency will change the financial world for the better. View full profile...
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