Bitcoin Payments App Strike Launches for European Customers
The app, which has been available in the U.S. since 2020, also recently expanded its services to Africa.
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- Bitcoin payments app Strike is now available to customers in Europe.
- The firm has been on an expansion streak recently, launching in several countries globally, most recently in the African region.
Strike, the payments application using the Bitcoin blockchain, has launched in Europe, allowing customers to buy, sell and withdraw bitcoin (BTC) in the region, it announced Wednesday.
The company recently expanded its services to Africa and is already rolled out in Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Customers can check their local iOS or Android app store to see if the app is available in their country as some are excluded from the expansion.
“As the third-largest economy globally … Europe presents vast opportunities for bitcoin adoption,” Strike said in a press release. “We’ve seen the demand and heard the feedback first-hand from the community.”
Strike, a product of Chicago-based Zap Solutions that is led by entrepreneur Jack Mallers, launched in the U.S. in 2020. The app can be compared to Cash App or PayPal, two popular online payment systems, in that it lets customers send and receive money around the world. The difference is that Strike uses the Bitcoin blockchain to do so, making transfers faster and cheaper than other alternatives.
European customers will be able to buy, sell and withdraw BTC directly with euro deposits through SEPA, the region’s payments provider. The recipient of the funds can then choose to receive the value in either bitcoin, euro or, in some regions, Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
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Helene is a New York-based reporter covering Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin ETFs and crypto exchanges. She is also the co-host of CoinDesk's Markets Daily show. Helene is a graduate of New York University's business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.