Strike, a Bitcoin financial services company, has received both a BitLicense and a Money Transmitter License from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The approvals mean that New York residents and businesses can now access Strike’s full suite of Bitcoin products and services.
Getting the green light from the NYDFS is no small thing. New York’s regulatory framework is widely considered among the toughest in the country, demanding high standards of security, operational transparency, and consumer protection. The fact that Strike cleared those hurdles puts it in a pretty exclusive club of Bitcoin companies that have met the state’s strict requirements.
Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike, called it a defining moment for the company. “Strike is building the leading Bitcoin financial institution,” Mallers said. “With our BitLicense, we can now bring that mission to New York, the global center of finance.” He added that Strike operates at the highest standards, delivering brokerage, savings, and payments on open monetary infrastructure.
So what does this mean for folks in New York? Quite a bit, actually. Residents can now buy and sell bitcoin directly through a linked bank account, debit card, or wire transfer. There’s also a paycheck direct deposit feature that lets users convert up to 100 percent of their direct-deposited paychecks into bitcoin, with no conversion fees on amounts up to $20,000 per month.
For those who want a more hands-off approach to accumulating bitcoin, Strike offers recurring buys – automated purchases on hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly schedules to dollar-cost average into the market. Fees are waived after the first week for personal accounts. There are also target orders, which execute automatically when bitcoin hits a price you set ahead of time.
One feature that stands out is bill pay. Users can pay utility bills, credit card balances, and mortgage payments directly from a bitcoin balance. That kind of everyday utility is something the broader Bitcoin ecosystem has been pushing toward for a while now.
On the custody side, Strike says all bitcoin and cash holdings are held 1:1 and are never lent out or used for corporate operations. Customers can withdraw to cold storage at no cost, with on-chain fees covered by Strike. As a NYDFS-regulated custodian, Strike is also subject to ongoing audits, capital reserve requirements, and cybersecurity examinations.
Strike is available for download now. New York residents can sign up at strike.me.
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