Walmart, Mcdonald’s, and Thousands of Other Stores to Accept Bitcoin Via Strike’s Lightning Network 

Strike CEO Jack Mallers announced that Walmart, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Macy’s, Whole Foods, and 400,000 other stores will now be able to accept Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network.

Strike uses the Bitcoin network as a form of global payment rails. Through the Lightning Network, fiat can be converted into Bitcoin, which then becomes fiat in the merchants’ pocket. The move represents a significant win for blockchain technology, as many will realize that the Bitcoin network can be used in the same way as the credit card network. Yet when using Bitcoin, fees are close to $0, compared to the approximately 3% costs incurred when using credit cards such as Mastercard or Visa.

During the Miami Bitcoin Conference 2022, Mallers disclosed that Strike is partnering with NCR, Blackhawk, and Shopify. Following the integration, any platforms that use the service will be able to conduct transactions via Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Mallers has also begun working with U.S. Senator Lummis in order to encourage Bitcoin.

At the Miami Bitcoin Conference, Mallers explained that the BTC integration was a means of avoiding banks. Generally, paying with debit and credit cards costs shop owners a lot of fees, but with the Lightning Network, merchants will be able to accept payments without the expensive fees, while also giving users more privacy during the payment process. Using the Bitcoin Lightning Network also represents a feasible option for users, as it is incredibly cheap and fast.

“You’re gonna be able to walk into a grocery store, to Whole Foods, to a Chipotle; if you want to use a Lightning node over Tor, you do that,”

Mallers proclaimed on stage at the Miami Bitcoin Conference 2022.

“Any online merchant that uses Shopify can accept payments without the 1949 boomer [credit card] network, receive it instantly, cash final, no intermediary, no 3% fee.”

On the Flipside

Strike handles all fiat conversions to BTC and vice versa. This means that neither customers nor merchants need to have Bitcoin to be able to make transactions.