The Lightning Network wallet Zap founder Jack Mallers has announced a new application called Strike that will allow you to make Lightning payments with your debit card or bank account. This means, there will be no wallet, no channels, nodes, swaps or liquidity management anymore.
I just published Announcing Strike by Zap
Our biggest product yet, built on top of Olympus.
What if you could pay a Lightning invoice with your debit card? What if your bank account could speak Bitcoin?
Welcome, @ln_strike đđ„đhttps://t.co/CX8oqJHatr pic.twitter.com/bzlfJ8gh1H
â Jack Mallers (@JackMallers) January 30, 2020
Built on Olympus, it is âdesigned to usher in an era of Bitcoin that we believe has the best shot of achieving our mainstream hopes and desires.â
Mallers explains in his Medium post that volatility is the prime issue they had because while it is an opportunity in the market, in a consumer-merchant setting it is a non-starter, making it âextremelyâ difficult for them to accept bitcoin.
Another big issue is taxes. In the US, bitcoin is taxed as property and spending it a taxable event which even extends to the Lightning Network.
âAs a merchant, this was arguably a bigger issue. (âŠ) The tax headache was not worth it, and nearly all merchants opted out of accepting bitcoin.â
Creating a wallet, custody and owning Bitcoin was another as people didnât want to. With Strike, Mallers says,
âWe arenât just changing how Bitcoin looks, but also how it feels. Weâre changing a consumerâs relationship with Bitcoin and Lightning, how it is used, and how it is viewed. Weâre opening up new ambitions, new ideas, new possibilities, and a new, mainstream audience.â
This product can be used to buy Bitcoin and sell it and by simply scanning the QR code and clicking pay, used for remittance payments and for internet tipping as well.
But it isnât a custodial wallet so if you are hacked and your BTC stolen, then no one can do anything about it and you have completely lost them.
The second layer on the Bitcoin network, Lightning Network offers real-time cheap settlements, where Strike aims to make the barrier of entry low but high flexibility and ease of use.
Strike is expected to be live on App Stores in the coming months meanwhile to join the beat list of the project, you can go to strike.zaphq.io.