Mobile payment app Strike has partnered with Shopify, alternative payment provider Blackhawk Network, and point-of-sale supplier NCR to create a new US payment system that allows merchants to quickly receive payments in dollars after people pay with crypto.
My Latest Video on this announcement.

The Lightning Network-based system will work with online purchases from merchants using Shopify, as well as point-of-sale transactions at many large chain stores. All of this made operational in conjunction with Cash App.

What this means for companies like a Starbucks whose sales are $24.6 B and over 43% in card payments could save the chain as much as $800 Million a year in fees. Multiply that by the 4 Trillion restaurant industry globally and you end up with an addressable market of approximately $9 Billion in savings.

Block, formerly known as Square, is integrating the Lightning Network into its popular Cash App, a move first promised in 2019. The company said the feature should be available to all U.S. Cash App users, except those in New York State, in the coming weeks.

The integration of the network will allow Cash app customers in the U.S. to send bitcoin for free within seconds to anybody in the world.

The Lightning integration is made possible by the Lightning Development Kit created by Spiral, which is funded by Block.

Cash App customers will also be able to send bitcoin to any compatible wallet that accepts Lightning Network payments, without being charged fees.

Almost three years ago, Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who’s also an investor in Lightning Labs, said there were plans underway to integrate the scaling technology with Square’s Cash App.