Strike, a payments software that runs on the Bitcoin blockchain, revealed on Wednesday that it had gone live in Europe, enabling users to purchase, sell, and withdraw Bitcoin (BTC) and to pay with local currency.
In response to the question of when the company would introduce its services in Europe, European Bitcoiners have long questioned the company, “Wen Europe?” Founder and CEO Jack Mallers said in a statement published, “Now!” Before the announcement, users in a few European nations started to discover Strike showing up on app stores.
The company has previously launched in Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America and has lately extended its services to Africa. Since some apps are not included in the expansion, users can check their local iOS or Android app store to see if the app is accessible in their nation.
Customers in Europe will have the ability to easily purchase, sell, and withdraw Bitcoin using euro deposits via the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). After that, the beneficiary of the funds has the option to receive the value in bitcoin, euros, or, in some cases, USDT stablecoin from Tether.
According to the researchers, Strike also provides “free” on-chain withdrawals, which aid users in navigating high-fee times of network congestion and are intended to facilitate the widespread adoption of Bitcoin.
Users must be willing to put up with a target confirmation period of about 24 hours, though, as speedier on-chain transactions will still need to pay a sliding fee.
On top of the Bitcoin blockchain, Lightning functions as a network of bi-directional payment channels, making quick and affordable micropayments possible. Rather than receiving complicated Lightning invoices, all Strike clients have a Lightning Address, which is an email address in the format username@strike.me.
Strike users can opt to receive Lightning Address payments in either Bitcoin or euros, with automatic conversion for the latter. They can also choose to send from their bitcoin or euro balances. Additionally, users can issue zero-value Lightning invoices to receive Bitcoin to their balances from other wallets via the app.
Strike’s “Send Globally” feature enables European users to send low-cost local currency remittances to supported regions like Africa (Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo), Brazil, the Philippines, Mexico, and Vietnam, using Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
“As the third-largest economy globally, and with over 440 million inhabitants, Europe presents vast opportunities for Bitcoin adoption. As a leading Bitcoin-only app, we believe that Strike is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of millions seeking access to Bitcoin in Europe,” according to Strike.
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