Jack Mallers’ Crypto Payment Firm Strike Raises $80M

Strike, a Chicago-based bitcoin payment provider run by crypto entrepreneur Jack Mallers, raised $80 million in a Series B funding round that was led by Ten31, according to a press release on Tuesday.

Other participants included Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Wyoming and previous investors.

The fresh capital will be used to enhance Strike's payment network for merchants and consumers. Several big e-commerce companies use Strike's app, including Blackhawk, NCR, and Shopify (SHOP).

“We’re moving full speed ahead not just to integrate Strike’s revolutionary payments with leading merchants, but globally, with a variety of businesses and partners to innovate and deliver on more financial inclusion,” Mallers said in the release.

The Lightning Network is a Bitcoin scaling product that allows merchants to accept payments without having to wait for block confirmations on the legacy Bitcoin chain.

“Enabling a cheaper, faster and open payment network with some of the biggest financial institutions in the world isn’t fast and easy, but it’s happening. Every company that’s in the business of moving money is interested in superior payments, and we’re in talks with many of them. It doesn’t get any bigger and more exciting than innovating in payments for the betterment of the world,” Mallers said.