The partnership announced on April 7 will allow Shopify merchants in the US to receive Bitcoin payments from customers globally in US dollars.
Strike CEO Jack Mallers said the payment processing industry had been stagnant for 55 years, and it was time to revolutionize it. He added:
"The Lightning Network is a global payments network that lowers costs, increases speed, drives innovation, improves financial inclusion and brings the power of choice to consumers and merchants."
The Lightning Network is Bitcoin's tier two ladder solution that allows for faster and cheaper micro-payments across the network. In its native state, Bitcoin is too slow to be used for everyday payments. This is because it can only process around seven transactions per second. The Lightning Network can process thousands of transactions per second, making it ideal for Bitcoin payments [find out how buy BTC] with applications like Strike.
Great deal for traders
The move is a big deal for Shopify [SHOP] merchants, who will be able to accept payments globally, save on processing costs, and get cash settlement. This will allow them to reach untapped markets and purchasing power.
There are 1,7 million businesses worldwide using Shopify, and it is the third largest ecommerce platform in the United States, with a market share of 10,9%, according to reports. The company was sued this month for its involvement in the Ledger hardware wallet data breach in 2020.
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Mallers said the integration was already in place, with merchants already accepting payments in BTC and cashing in greenbacks.
He has railed against the "boomeristic" credit card system and touted Bitcoin as the future of payments and settlements.
Strike has also integrated peer-to-peer Bitcoin payments using the Lightning Network. The company has partnered with alternative payment processor Blackhawk and point-of-sale provider NCR to facilitate these transactions.
Stablecoins on Lightning
Earlier this week, it was reported that Lightning Labs, a Bitcoin software developer, secured a $ 70 million funding round.
This will allow the company to develop a system called Taro that will allow it to send and receive stablecoins on the Lightning network.
The company believes the update will increase Bitcoin adoption, potentially allowing non-bankers in developing countries to send money using stablecoins. It could also be used in the Strike Shopify collaboration, but this has yet to be confirmed.
