Strike has officially announced the launch of its Bitcoin products and services in Africa. While the offerings are restricted to certain regions, Strike is confident that they will soon enter more places in the years to come. The launch of Strike Africa applies to the Ivory Coast, Gabon, Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, and Zambia. The move aligns with two imperative missions of Strike: global expansion and access to Bitcoin.
Lightning services are also making their debut, with many on-off ramp options. Residents of the said markets have access to USDT, Bitcoin & Lightning Wallet, and debit card on-ramps. For the time since the plan was announced, customers outside of the US can buy and sell USDT, Bitcoin, etc.
While Strike has called Africa a major market for expansion, the actual reasons go way beyond the generic horizon. They cover Africa’s economic aspects, entailing high inflation rates and the constant devaluation of local currencies. The aim is to enable Africans to seek opportunities pertaining to navigating their way around economic challenges.
For reference, Nigeria is struggling with an inflation rate of 30%. Naira devalued recently and has lost almost 230% of its value in the previous year. Similarly, Ghana has a high inflation rate of 23.5%, averaging around 14.3% in the last ten years.
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Remittance rates are high, with transactions costing 8.5%, on average, for every $200 transferred to Africa. The global rate is around 6%.
Strike sees the skyrocketing inflation and remittances as a way to enter the market and better serve the residents. It has committed to delivering global payment connectivity that is economical, faster, and open to the public, irrespective of their economic background. That said, Strike Africa is aiming to fuel cross-border transactions so that people in the US can conveniently and economically send funds to their family members in Africa.
A total of two functionalities will go live with Strike Africa. These are Strike App and Businesses, API, and Private. For starters, Strike Business will help businesses open accounts in the supported African regions. Initially, two use cases will be backed for operations: buying Bitcoin and USDT and cross-border payments.
APIs are expected to help developers support their innovation in architecting Bitcoin and payment tools for customers. Their projects could aim to extend their reach within and beyond African boundaries. Most importantly, the Strike API will help developers onboard a large number of users into their app via local currency and instant cross-currency payments. Primal, for one, is already leveraging the capabilities of the Strike API. It utilizes the API to power its Bitcoin wallets, Lightning Address, and Lightning Wallet, to mention a few use cases.
Strike Private grants African customers access to Strike’s Bitcoin infrastructure. This brings the power of no purchase limits, tailored custom pricing, and their team of Bitcoin experts.
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Strike aims to strengthen its presence in Africa with more partnerships to happen in the future.
