Jack Mallers, developer of the Zap Lightning wallet, announced their new application for iPhone, Android and Chrome on July 2, which allows users to send and receive Bitcoin (  BTC  ) and Lightning Network payments  directly from and to a bank account. .

Strike, which has now entered the public beta phase, allows interaction with the Bitcoin and Lightning protocols without wallet, seeds, channels, liquidity or white papers, while the Know your customer (KYC) protocols are reduced to the bare minimum.

Jack Mallers wants Bitcoin to achieve widespread adoption. To this end, in 2018 he created Zap, one of the first office portfolios making the functions of Lightning Network accessible via a user-friendly interface. 

In addition, last fall Mallers announced plans to develop a platform for Bitcoin instant debit card purchases via LN. Strike is the result of this work and goes far beyond its original mission.

Although Strike allows the purchase of Bitcoin with a debit card or bank account, it can also be used for remittances and personal payments, micropayments and online and offline purchases.

It also comes with a strike.me social media profile, which allows users to accept free payments from anywhere in the world via an online QR code. Payments received are instantly converted to a trust.

Keep your privacy

One of Mallers' main goals was to comply with regulations while reducing KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, by stating:

"The last thing I want to do is introduce a new demography of Bitcoin users , only to have them treated like criminals as soon as they download Strike."

Rather than accepting the commonly used belt and suspender approach, he proceeded to meet with lawyers and educate regulators to determine how "good enough" KYC / AML was.

As the average value of the payment in the private beta version is around $ 27, there is no need to collect mass information and identification. Most app users will only need to enter a name and phone number.

Some states are excluded and Strike will not initially be available in these regions.

Just the beginning

Mallers has big plans for the future of Strike. There is said to be a Strike Visa debit card in the works, as well as a rewards program through partner merchants and referrals for friends and family.

Strike is also working to provide merchants with tools to process contactless payments, and an improved e-commerce system is also being rolled out.