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Strike is a phone app for buying bitcoin, sending it, and getting paid in it, and it sells nothing else. Founded by Jack Mallers and based in Chicago, it is the app that helped make the Lightning Network famous. Our verdict: one of the cheapest and simplest ways for a US saver to buy bitcoin regularly and move it to their own wallet, as long as you are comfortable that it publishes no proof of reserves.
| Founded | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Coins | Bitcoin only |
| Fees | One-time buys tiered by monthly volume (0.89%-0.99% for small buys, falling below 0.5% at high volume); recurring buys free after the first week; ACH and wire deposits free; on-chain withdrawals free on the slower Flexible tier |
| Custody | Custodial (Strike holds keys in-house, mostly multisig cold storage); free on-chain withdrawals and auto-withdrawals to your own wallet; Lightning sends supported |
| Best for | Bitcoin-only savers who dollar-cost average, want free withdrawals to their own wallet, or want to use Lightning |
Compare Strike side by side with other exchanges
What it is
Strike is run by Zap Solutions, a company Mallers started in 2017 to build Lightning software. The Strike app launched in 2020. Lightning is a payment layer built on top of Bitcoin that settles small payments in seconds for fractions of a cent, and Strike lets you send bitcoin over it or the slower, more expensive main chain.
Strike is app-first: there is no desktop trading screen for individuals, though businesses get a web dashboard. It is bitcoin-only in the US, with no altcoins, stocks or tokens. Beyond buying and sending, it offers paycheck direct deposit that converts into bitcoin, bitcoin-backed loans, and a business account.
Mallers is also known for briefly running Twenty One Capital, a public bitcoin-holding company; he stepped down from that role in July 2026 to focus on Strike, which stays independent.
Fees
Strike charges a percentage on each one-time buy or sell, tiered by how much you trade in a month. The official fee page is only shown inside the app and its help center, and the schedule has shifted: the mid-2025 table ran from 0.99% for buys under $250 down to 0.39% above $15 million a month, and an April 2026 post from Strike says one-time buys now start at 0.89% and fall to 0.25% at the highest tiers. Treat “about 0.9% for a small one-off buy” as the number to plan around, and check the app before a large purchase.
The better news is what is free, as of 2026:
- Recurring buys (hourly, daily, weekly or monthly) carry no trading fee after the first week.
- Paycheck direct deposit converted to bitcoin is fee-free up to $20,000 a month.
- ACH and wire deposits are free.
- On-chain withdrawals to your own wallet are free on the “Flexible” speed, where Strike pays the network fee and sends within about 24 hours. Faster tiers cost extra.
Lightning sends pass through the tiny routing fee. Instant debit-card deposits and instant cash withdrawals do carry a fee; Strike’s page listing those figures could not be verified at the time of writing, so expect card funding to cost a few percent and use ACH instead. Strike’s terms also say a quote “may include” a spread, so the price you see already includes any markup.
Buying bitcoin step by step
- Install Strike from the App Store or Google Play and sign up with your phone number and email.
- Verify your identity with a government ID; the app walks you through it.
- In Settings, turn on a passkey or security key and “protected actions,” which require a second confirmation for withdrawals.
- Link your bank and add dollars by ACH (free). Or set up direct deposit so part of each paycheck lands as bitcoin.
- Tap Buy, enter an amount, and confirm; the fee is shown on the preview. Better still, set a recurring buy and let the fee drop to zero after week one.
- Withdraw: tap Send, paste your wallet’s address (or scan a Lightning invoice), and pick “Flexible” for a free on-chain send. You can also set an automatic withdrawal that sweeps balances above 0.01 BTC to your wallet.
Security and trust
Strike has no known security breach. Since September 2023 it has held customer bitcoin and dollars on its own infrastructure rather than through an outside custodian, with keys split across multiple signers and most coins in cold storage (offline). Its terms say it holds your bitcoin as your custodian, backed one-to-one, and it has passed a SOC 2 Type II audit of its controls. Dollars sit at partner banks with pass-through FDIC coverage; bitcoin is not insured.
Strike is licensed as a money transmitter in 49 US jurisdictions, and in March 2026 it received a New York BitLicense, making it available in all 50 states. Its European arm won a MiCA licence in June 2026. Early in its life there was a fair criticism: a 2021 report found Zap licensed in far fewer states than it claimed to serve. That gap has since been closed.
What Strike does not offer, as of 2026, is a proof of reserves, a public, verifiable snapshot showing it holds every customer’s bitcoin. It has said proof-of-reserves work is on its roadmap. Until then you are trusting the company’s word and its audits.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free on-chain withdrawals and free automatic sweeps to your own wallet.
- Fee-free recurring buys and fee-free paycheck conversion up to $20,000 a month.
- Licensed in all 50 states, SOC 2 audited, and the best Lightning experience of any app here.
Cons
- No proof of reserves.
- Small one-off buys pay close to 1%, and the exact fee table lives inside the app.
- Phone-only for individuals; no desktop interface and no order book for price-sensitive traders.
Who it’s for
Strike is for the person who wants to buy bitcoin the way they save into a 401(k): a fixed amount every week, automatically, at no fee, swept to a wallet they control. It is also the pick if you want to use bitcoin as money, tipping, paying invoices or sending to family over Lightning.
If verifiable reserves matter more to you than free withdrawals, compare River, which publishes them monthly. This is education, not financial or tax advice.
Next
- How to buy bitcoin: the general walkthrough.
- Compare all the exchanges.
- Strike vs River: the two bitcoin-only apps, head to head.
- Wallets and self-custody: where those free withdrawals should go.