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Strike, an American Payment Platform, Expands to Nigeria in the Midst of Crypto Platforms Shutdown

March 1, 2024

Nigeria will now be able to use Strike, a payments platform with a focus on Bitcoin. With more African markets to come, the company declared its intentions to bring its complete suite of Bitcoin services to these African countries: Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia.

Strike

The company claims that this development is the result of high rates of inflation and depreciating currencies, which make it difficult to save money and accumulate wealth. 

The Benefits of Strike Africa

The CEO and founder of the business, Jack Mallers, revealed in a blog post on Tuesday.

“With more African markets to come in the future, we are launching Strike Africa today, expanding our full suite of Bitcoin services into Gabon, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia,” the post states.

The Chicago-based startup Zap created Strike, a mobile payment app that works similarly to Venmo or Cash App but sends and receives money using blockchain technology. 

https://x.com/jackmallers/status/1762538074431438878?s=46

The company, which began operations in the United States and El Salvador, declared last year that it would grow to over 65 countries and penetrate new markets in the Americas, Asia, and the Caribbean, in addition to Africa.

In addition to local fiat currency on-ramps and off-ramps, Strike Africa will allow customers to buy and sell bitcoin {{BTC}} and Tether’s dollar stablecoin {{USDT}}. Additionally, global payments utilizing Bitcoin’s Lightning network will be available, enabling quick and inexpensive transfers and cross-border payments.

Security System Of Strike Platform 

Strike has put in place a number of safeguards to guarantee the security of transactions and takes security seriously as well. They employ multi-factor authentication to confirm user identities and use encryption technology to safeguard sensitive user data. 

Strike also conducts routine security audits to find and fix any possible vulnerabilities and adheres to industry best practices for data protection. These precautions aid in protecting user funds and guaranteeing a safe transaction environment for Nigerian Strike users.

Challenges The Cryptocurrency Platform Might Face In Nigeria, Africa 

Despite obstacles with cryptocurrency platform regulations in Kenya and Nigeria, Strike is growing throughout Africa. Kenya is enacting new trading laws because of concerns about money laundering and the funding of terrorism, while Nigeria blocked access because of concerns about currency stabilization. Financial barriers in Africa must be addressed with creative solutions like Strike.

Remittance rates from Africa have been among the highest in the world over the years, which has slowed down financial development. The World Bank reported in 2022 that, in contrast to less than 6% worldwide, the average cost of sending $200 to Africa was 8.5% of the total amount transferred. 

Due to fees of up to 20% on the amount transferred to certain African countries, this has made the remittance services that are currently available more difficult to access and costly.

Conclusion 

Strike may find it difficult to overcome this. Making sure that African financial regulations are followed and adjusting to the local regulatory framework may present additional challenges. There may also be competition from the continent’s already-existing payment platforms. 

In certain places, it’s also critical to take connectivity and infrastructure into account. All things considered, overcoming these obstacles will be essential to Strike’s success in Africa.

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Abdullahi Kafayat
Abdullahi Kafayat

Abdullahi Kafayat is an enthusiastic writer interested in the tech world. She's a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University and has a BSc in Chemistry. You can reach her at Kafayatabdullahi17@gmail.com.

Articles: 598

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