Lightning to strike Shopify merchants with addition of BTC payments

cointelegraph.com:

Chicago-based payment app Strike has integrated with global e-commerce giant Shopify so merchants can accept Bitcoin payments via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network (LN) is a Layer-2 scaling solution for Bitcoin designed to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions.

Strike CEO Jack Mallers revealed the new integration on stage at Miami's Bitcoin 2022 conference today. The move could allow Shopify’s almost two million global merchants to accept Bitcoin payments denominated in USD. However the only merchant partner cited in Strike's official release was Warren Lotas, an LA based streetwear brand — and that site was down at the time of writing.

Shopify is the world’s 18th largest ecommerce company with about $4.6 billion in annual revenue according to market research site Macrotrends. Its service enables merchants to set up an online store in 175 different countries.

“If I wanna walk into a whole foods, a McDonald's and use a different payment network, its this thing... As the merchant, you can receive in #BTC, take Starbucks points, I don't care." - Jack Mallers pic.twitter.com/6sW4U6cvaJ

The Bitcoin 2022 official Twitter account stated the integration was already live and quoted Mallers chiding the modern payments system which started in 1949 with the Diners Club card:

According to Mallers one of the main advantages to using Bitcoin via Lightning is that payments settle nearly instantly as opposed to the “late, two to 15 day settlement” he cited as a drawback of existing common electronic payment methods. He added that instant settlements help both consumers and merchants complete accounting work and know their exact balances faster.

Mallers also revealed Strike’s partnership with the Blackhawk payment