Strike, a prominent digital payments company, has announced that it has completed the migration of all customer assets, including bitcoin (BTC) and U.S. dollars (USD), to its in-house infrastructure. The move, which has been in progress for two years, is aimed at reducing counterparty risk and enhancing the performance and reliability of Strike’s products and services.
Strike says the move will help improve user experience
The decision to bring custody in-house comes in the wake of speculation surrounding the bankruptcy of Strike’s former custodian, Prime Trust. While Prime Trust has agreed to sell itself to digital asset custody rival BitGo, other Bitcoin financial services firm Swan Bitcoin has also recently severed ties with Prime Trust. Strike, however, refrained from commenting on the situation, emphasizing that its plan to internalize custody has been a long-standing strategy.
By assuming direct custody of Bitcoin and fiat assets, Strike aims to eliminate the need for intermediaries between the company and its customers. Jack Mallers, CEO and co-founder of Strike expressed pride in the fact that the company now owns and operates all of its infrastructure for customers. Mallers also highlighted the short-term and long-term benefits of the transition to in-house custody.
The firm wants to provide new features and services
The updated infrastructure has paved the way for several new features and capabilities that are already live for users. Among these features is the ability to send Bitcoin directly to other users on a peer-to-peer basis. Additionally, users can choose to receive funds as cash or bitcoin, with the option to make payments on-chain or through the Bitcoin Lightning Network—a secondary payment system designed to facilitate faster and more cost-effective bitcoin transactions.
Furthermore, Strike has increased deposit limits and introduced tiered on-chain payments, enabling users to select higher fees for expedited transactions or lower fees for less time-sensitive transfers. Mallers also expressed the company’s long-term ambitions, including the development of global on/off ramps, instant withdrawals, new dollar cost averaging capabilities, improved limits, enhanced cross-currency capabilities, and other forthcoming features.
With its customer base spread across over 65 countries, Strike’s move to in-house custody positions the company to provide a more secure and efficient experience for its users. By reducing reliance on external custodians and taking control of its infrastructure, Strike aims to enhance the robustness and performance of its services while ensuring the utmost safety and privacy for customer assets.
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