Near-zero fees, Lightning built-in from day one, and available in 100+ countries. Strike is what a Bitcoin app looks like when someone actually thought about it.
Strike does one thing better than any other app: it makes buying and sending Bitcoin feel effortless. No order book to navigate, no hidden fee tiers, no altcoin distractions. You open the app, buy Bitcoin at a ~0.3% spread, and send it anywhere in the world over Lightning in seconds. That's the whole pitch.
Founded by Jack Mallers in 2020, Strike was built from the ground up with Lightning Network as the core infrastructure, not a bolt-on feature. Most exchanges treated Lightning as an afterthought; Strike treated it as the whole point. The result is an app where instant, near-free Bitcoin sends are the default, not the exception.
We tested Strike across buying, sending, receiving, and DCA features. Here's exactly what it does well, where it falls short, and who it's actually built for.
Quick Verdict
Best for Lightning users, cheapest fees, global reach
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | 9/10 | Lowest of any major app at ~0.3% spread |
| Security | 7/10 | FinCEN-registered, licensed in all 50 states, no custody |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 | Cleanest UX in its class, three-tap buying |
| Features | 7/10 | Lightning-native, DCA, but no auto-withdrawal or IRA |
| Bitcoin Focus | 9/10 | Bitcoin-only, Lightning-first philosophy |
| Overall | 8/10 | Cheapest fees, best Lightning experience |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, USA |
| Trading Fees | ~0.3% spread, no separate commission |
| Deposit Methods | Bank Transfer, Debit Card |
| KYC Required | ✓ Yes |
| Self-Custody | Manual send to wallet |
| Lightning Network | ✓ Yes |
| Auto-DCA | ✓ Yes |
| Auto-Withdrawal | ✗ No |
| Bitcoin IRA | ✗ No |
| Proof of Reserves | ✗ No |
| Withdrawal Fee | Free (Lightning), network fee (on-chain) |
| Supported Countries | 100+ countries |
Strike is a Bitcoin app built on the Lightning Network. It launched in the US in 2020, expanded globally in 2022, and now serves users in 100+ countries. The company is based in Chicago and was founded by Jack Mallers, who previously built Zap Wallet.
What makes Strike different from Coinbase or Kraken is philosophy. Strike's entire design assumes you're going to do something with your Bitcoin. Buy it, send it, pay with it. The app is optimized for movement, not storage. You connect a bank account or debit card, buy Bitcoin, and it lands instantly in your Strike balance. From there you can send it over Lightning to anyone else on the network in about two seconds.
Strike is also notable for its remittance use case. Because Lightning sends are nearly instant and cost fractions of a cent, Strike has become a popular way to send money across borders. El Salvador chose Strike as the primary app for its national Bitcoin rollout in 2021. Strike processes cross-border payments that would cost $15 in wire fees for under a penny.
Strike is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds money transmitter licenses in all 50 US states. It's not a crypto exchange in the traditional sense. There's no order book, no trading pairs, no altcoins. Just Bitcoin and Lightning.
Strike charges a spread of approximately 0.3% on Bitcoin purchases. There's no separate trading fee, no subscription tier, no "standard app vs pro app" gotcha. The price you see is close to the market price with a small markup baked in.
| Platform | Fee | $500 Buy Cost | $12K/Year DCA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strike | ~0.3% | $1.50 | $36 |
| Kraken Pro | 0.26% | $1.30 | $31.20 |
| Coinbase Advanced Trade | 0.40% | $2.00 | $48 |
| Coinbase Standard App | 1.49% | $7.45 | $178.80 |
| Cash App Bitcoin | ~1-2% | ~$7.50 | ~$180 |
Strike and Kraken Pro are neck-and-neck at the top. Strike costs $36/year on a $12K annual DCA versus Kraken Pro at $31.20, a $4.80 difference. If you're choosing purely on fees, Kraken Pro edges it, but Strike's simplicity and Lightning-native design make up that gap for most users.
The bigger gap is against Coinbase's standard app ($178.80/year) and Cash App ($180/year). Switching from Cash App to Strike for your Bitcoin DCA saves roughly $144 per year on a $1,000/month buying schedule. Over five years, that's $720 more Bitcoin in your stack.
Lightning sends between Strike users are completely free. On-chain Bitcoin withdrawals cost only the network fee. Strike doesn't add its own surcharge.
Lightning is baked into every part of Strike. When you receive Bitcoin on Strike, it arrives as a Lightning payment. When you send Bitcoin from Strike, it goes out as a Lightning payment unless the recipient only has an on-chain address. The app handles the routing automatically.
Here's what that means in practice. You can pay any Lightning invoice from any wallet. Strike generates a Lightning address (yourname@strike.me) that anyone can send to. You can scan a QR code at a Lightning-enabled merchant and pay instantly. The experience is closer to Venmo than Coinbase.
Lightning payments settle in 1-2 seconds. No waiting for on-chain confirmations.
Sending $100 over Lightning typically costs less than $0.01. A fraction of on-chain fees.
Pay any Lightning invoice globally. No bank required, no cross-border fees.
The Lightning integration also makes Strike the best option for receiving Bitcoin salary payments. If your employer pays in Bitcoin and uses a Lightning-compatible payroll service, Strike can receive those payments the same day, for free. This is how Jack Mallers has described the original vision: a world where your paycheck arrives in Bitcoin over Lightning and you spend it directly or save it without touching a bank.
One important limitation: Strike's Lightning is custodial. Your Lightning balance sits on Strike's infrastructure. You're trusting Strike to hold those funds. For small amounts you plan to spend or send quickly, that's fine. For Bitcoin you're accumulating as savings, move it to a hardware wallet. Strike makes this easy: tap Send, enter your Bitcoin address, confirm.
Yes. Strike's recurring buy feature lets you schedule daily, weekly, or monthly Bitcoin purchases from your linked bank account or debit card. The fee stays at ~0.3% regardless of the recurring amount, which makes it one of the cheapest DCA platforms available.
The main gap against Swan Bitcoin is auto-withdrawal. Swan can automatically send your Bitcoin to your hardware wallet after each purchase. Strike doesn't. That means your accumulated Bitcoin sits on Strike until you manually move it. For a disciplined DCA buyer, this is a minor inconvenience. For someone who tends to forget or leave coins on exchanges, Swan is the safer choice.
Setup takes five minutes. Download the app, enter your email, verify your identity with a government ID, and link a bank account. Strike's KYC is faster than most exchanges. We've seen accounts approved in under an hour.
The buying flow is three taps: amount, confirm, done. No charts to navigate, no order type selection, no fee breakdown. Strike bets that most users just want to buy Bitcoin and move on. That bet turns out to be right for most people.
The app design is clean and fast. Sending Bitcoin to a Lightning address is as simple as sending a Venmo payment. Type the address (or scan a QR code), enter the amount, confirm. The payment arrives at the other end in about a second.
Where Strike loses points on UX: there's no price chart, no portfolio history, no order book. If you want to see the candlestick chart or place a limit order, Strike isn't the tool. For active traders, Kraken Pro is a better fit. Strike is for buyers, senders, and savers.
Strike expanded from the US to 65+ countries in 2022 and now operates in 100+. Most of Western Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific are covered. The full country list is on strike.me/global.
Feature availability varies by country. US users get the full product: bank transfers, debit card purchases, recurring buys, and Lightning. Some international markets have more limited payment rails but still support Lightning sends and receives. Check the app for your specific country's features before signing up.
For EU users: Strike is available but Kraken is often a better fit for Europeans. Kraken supports free SEPA transfers and has been in Europe since 2013. Strike's fee advantage is smaller once you factor in SEPA availability.
| Feature | Strike | Coinbase | Cash App | Swan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best fee | ~0.3% | 1.49% (standard) | ~1-2% | ~1% |
| Lightning Network | Native | Wallet app only | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Bitcoin-only | ✓ Yes | ✗ No (200+ coins) | ✗ No (stocks too) | ✓ Yes |
| Auto-withdrawal DCA | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Global availability | 100+ countries | 100+ countries | US only | US only |
| Bitcoin IRA | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Beginner UX | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Simple |
Strike wins on fees and Lightning. Swan wins on DCA infrastructure and auto-withdrawal. Coinbase wins on brand recognition and regulatory standing. Coinbase is the right first exchange for total beginners. Strike is the right next step once you care about fees.
Strike is one of the best Bitcoin apps available. The fees are among the lowest of any major platform, Lightning is genuinely built-in rather than bolted on, and the UX makes buying and sending Bitcoin feel natural for the first time.
It loses a few points for the missing features: no auto-withdrawal to cold storage, no order book, no IRA, no proof-of-reserves. These aren't dealbreakers for most users, but they matter if any of those features are your priority.
The honest recommendation: use Strike if you want the cheapest fees and the best Lightning experience. Use Swan if you want auto-DCA to cold storage and never want to think about manually moving your Bitcoin. Use Kraken if you want the full trading platform with the deepest Bitcoin market. And regardless of which exchange you use, your Bitcoin savings belong on a hardware wallet, not on any exchange.
Strike has the lowest fees and the best Lightning experience. Your Bitcoin should be in a hardware wallet, not on an exchange.
Strike is a regulated US company registered with FinCEN and licensed in all 50 states as a money transmitter. It's available in 100+ countries and is backed by notable investors. Strike doesn't hold your Bitcoin on its platform long-term. It's designed for instant buy-and-send, not storage. That said, like any exchange, you should move your Bitcoin to a hardware wallet if you're not spending it immediately. Strike is safe for buying and sending; it's not designed as a long-term custody solution.
Strike charges approximately 0.3% as a spread on Bitcoin purchases. No separate trading fee on top. This is lower than Coinbase's standard app (1.49%), lower than Coinbase Advanced Trade (0.40%), and competitive with Kraken Pro (0.26%). Lightning Network sends are free between Strike users and near-zero on the broader Lightning Network. There's no monthly fee and no withdrawal fee for Lightning transfers.
Yes. Lightning is Strike's core feature, not an add-on. You can send and receive Bitcoin over Lightning instantly, with fees that are fractions of a cent. Strike was one of the first major apps to build Lightning as the default experience rather than an afterthought. For paying Lightning invoices, topping up Lightning wallets, or receiving payments from merchants, Strike works better than any traditional exchange.
Yes. Strike supports recurring Bitcoin buys on daily, weekly, or monthly schedules. The fee at ~0.3% makes it one of the cheapest DCA options available. The main gap compared to Swan Bitcoin is that Strike doesn't offer automatic withdrawal to your hardware wallet after each purchase. You'll need to manually send your Bitcoin to cold storage. If auto-withdrawal is your priority, Swan is the better fit.
Strike launched in the US, then expanded to 65 countries in 2022 and now covers 100+ countries. Europe, Latin America, and most of Asia-Pacific are supported. You can check the full list at strike.me/global. Some features (like fiat deposits via bank transfer) vary by country, but the core Bitcoin buy-and-send functionality works globally.
Strike earns revenue primarily through the spread on Bitcoin purchases (approximately 0.3%) and through its business payments products. Unlike some apps that monetize through data sales or push you toward high-fee products, Strike's model is straightforward: you pay a small spread when you buy Bitcoin. Lightning sends within the Strike network are free as a product decision to drive adoption.
Both are beginner-friendly Bitcoin apps with similar fee structures. Cash App charges around 1-2% on Bitcoin purchases, which is significantly higher than Strike's ~0.3%. Strike has better Lightning support and is Bitcoin-focused rather than a general payments app. Cash App is more widely known and has deeper integration with the US banking system. For Bitcoin buyers who care about fees and Lightning, Strike is the better option. For casual users who already use Cash App for peer-to-peer payments, the convenience may outweigh the fee difference.
For buying, sending, and receiving Bitcoin, yes. Strike doesn't have an order book, advanced charting, or limit orders, so it's not suitable for active trading. But for the average person who wants to buy Bitcoin regularly at low fees and send it instantly over Lightning, Strike handles everything you need. Combine it with a hardware wallet for storage and you have a solid Bitcoin stack.
Strike Pay is the business-facing side of Strike, allowing merchants to accept Bitcoin payments (including Lightning) and receive settlement in local currency or Bitcoin. It's used by businesses across El Salvador, the US, and Europe. The merchant product integrates with payment terminals and online checkout flows. For individuals, this is mostly background infrastructure. The user-facing app remains the main product.
No. Strike is designed for buying and transacting, not long-term storage. The app even encourages you to send Bitcoin to your own wallet. Any amount you plan to hold for more than a few days should go to a hardware wallet. Strike makes this easy: tap Send, paste your hardware wallet address, and confirm. The Lightning withdrawal is instant and near-free. There's no excuse to leave meaningful amounts on any exchange.
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