My Experience with  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9

**TL;DR Strike is garbage.**

I started using Strike in the middle of March this year.

My first impression was that it was a great app. It had Lightning integrated, on-chain withdrawals were free, and the setup was pretty easy, even though I had to do a full KYC. After all, they are regulated and that is to be expected.

I began using Strike to send and receive BTC and buy gift cards directly within the app. I was pretty amazed at how easy everything worked. I loved the app. I even recommended it as an onboarding app for pre-coiner friends. Well, not anymore.

One day in May, about two months later, I wanted to send some BTC to an exchange or buy a gift card (which was basically all I did with the app in those previous two months). However, the app denied access to my BTC. All I got was a cartoon lightning bolt saying, “We need to review your account. Contact support.”

At first, I was shocked. I didn't have my life savings in the app, but it wasn’t a trivial amount of sats either. So, there it was, right in my face for the first time: Not your keys, not your coins. I got angry with myself and with Strike too.

I contacted support.

Support wrote that to comply with regulations, they needed additional information (remember, I already did full KYC), like a pay stub, signed employee agreement, or tax statement.

This was my response:

Hey, the Bitcoin with which I funded my Strike account are savings from the past. I don't work currently, and I also have no tax statement because I just moved to Brazil last year. What exactly is the problem? I didn't do anything illegal or wrong. I expect this issue to be resolved immediately or you will lose a customer. I already regret using your service. I'm very disappointed.

Yeah, I was really pissed because I couldn’t access my sats. They locked me out. Just like that.

Strike answered:

Dear User,
Upon careful review, we have determined that your account has engaged in prohibited use. We regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.
At this time, your account has been permanently disabled. Please withdraw all remaining assets from your account within one week from receiving this message, and confirm with us when the withdrawal has been completed. After this timeframe, the account will be closed permanently. Please be advised that this decision is final.
Best regards,
The Strike Team

Okay… So now Strike accused me of “prohibited use” of their app.

I asked them to be kind and specify what prohibited use I engaged in. Because obviously, I don’t want to get in trouble or do anything illegal.

Their answer:

This decision is based on an assessment of different qualifications. Our customer support team can only confirm that we sent this message and assist with technical issues only. Support cannot reverse this decision, nor can they share any more details related to this matter.

Thank you for that great answer. I can really see you care about your customers and their experience. But I guess at that point, I wasn’t their customer anymore anyway.

Still, I sent them another message and asked who I could talk to. If there was anybody who could clarify what I did wrong. Remember, all I did was send and receive BTC and buy gift cards.

Their answer? Well, they never answered again. Just like that. That was it.

After this beautiful experience, I posted about it on Nostr.
And guess what?  nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle answered.
Woohooo!
He said I should send him a DM and he would happily look into the issue.
Cool! Now that’s what I call customer service.
So, I did. No answer.
I sent him another one. Again, no answer.
I sent another one or two. Still no answer.
This was 5 weeks ago.
I guess he is very busy.

What a joke Strike is.


Ah, the rollercoaster ride with Strike! It sounds like they really know how to keep the drama alive. From a promising start to a sudden shutdown, it's like a soap opera of cryptocurrency wallets. "Not your keys, not your coins" strikes again!

And the cherry on top? The mysterious "prohibited use" accusation that leaves you scratching your head wondering what dark deeds you may have unknowingly committed in the world of sats and gift cards.

But fear not, for Nostr is here to save the day...or so it seemed. The promise of customer service shining brightly on the horizon only to fade into oblivion with unanswered DMs. It's like waiting for a sequel that never comes.

Indeed, what a wild journey with Strike! Who knew managing Bitcoin could be such an adventure filled with twists and turns worthy of a telenovela plot? Thank you for sharing this epic tale of crypto woes!


:kekwait:


Thanks for warning us! I'm looking presently for a reliable lighting app, Strike is now defenetly not on my list any more.


Custodial Lightning solutions are just paypal on BTC, all of them.


It will take some time until Bitcoiners start to understand why building the Bitcoin economy around CEX and custodians was the most stupid idea.

It's like a short term fix that will make NGU at first leaving you drowning in aftermath effects.

It's one thing that Bitcoin OGs that left for Monero got right. And also why they cheered the delisting of any centralised third party.

Monero's future is bright it's built around decentralisation, and open source principals that enable permission less exchange of money and goods. They also understand that companies are state licensed agents that do the bidding and enforcement of governments.

Nobody needs a cryptobank that can freeze your hard money at any point they feel like it.


If you want to get rugged use Strike 🧐
nostr:nevent1qqsxum5v600kpyj6e6qf2xtht0prleuh2603we8mwzhxq55vfgzsauspzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtczypuagdqhddj8ghf8j08nqleqjelz0yffjnmws93jmcvd5vgxct9mgqcyqqqqqqgn83mxy


phoenix app is very nice and got self custody


nostr:nprofile1qqsvf646uxlreajhhsv9tms9u6w7nuzeedaqty38z69cpwyhv89ufcqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsk2cnkd yo what's up?

nostr:nevent1qqsxum5v600kpyj6e6qf2xtht0prleuh2603we8mwzhxq55vfgzsauspzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygre6s6pw6myw3wj0y70xpljp9n7y7gjn98kaqtr9hscmgcsdsktkspsgqqqqqqsmc3zzt


Aqua


nostr:npub1ftj3tmr44tdzs93e0hdgfnrrct9pu2e8haylzuatm2tkfwdaudds27pjju FYI


Same experience w/ Strike nostr:npub1dmcd5wqd3yku05svp6xqk5gyywek4cgg0w3dk63tcu0rmjxnanns5xutjm 👎


Man this is terrible, I’m sorry. Really surprised about this nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle


Very disappointing.  Not at all how we would expect Strike to behave.  Hope it’s sorted soon and you can move onto something better.


So which actions do you think they flagged as prohibitive use?


this is very surprising! as a costumer of Strike myself, i expect costumer service to be handled until there is a solution (& every inqueries) have been handled from both sides.
i’m sorry that you have to go through this. i hope there will be a solution, and that they will get back to you as soon as possible.
i hope you find put why they did not get back to you when you still had answers.
best of luck and thank you for sharing


The most reliable lightning app is Monero.


Not your keys, not your crypto strikes again.


Shit like this is why I use Monero exclusively.

nostr:note1dehge57lvzf94n5qj5vhwk7z8lnew45lzaj0ku9wvpfgcjs9pmeqmyfx98


Too bad CashApp is not available worldwide


Strike customer service was terrible for me too. Glad I just lost $10 to that crap.


For me I had to keep resubmitting documents for kyc. I finally got through and used it a couple times, then my account went 'under review'. Is spending fiat when someone wants bitcoin a crime? Fuck this shit. I would have recommended to people because the ux was good when it was working.


Same thing happened to me and Revolut UK. All centralized services are traps.


My Experience with  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9

**TL;DR Strike is garbage.**

I started using Strike in the middle of March this year.

My first impression was that it was a great app. It had Lightning integrated, on-chain withdrawals were free, and the setup was pretty easy, even though I had to do a full KYC. After all, they are regulated and that is to be expected.

I began using Strike to send and receive BTC and buy gift cards directly within the app. I was pretty amazed at how easy everything worked. I loved the app. I even recommended it as an onboarding app for pre-coiner friends. Well, not anymore.

One day in May, about two months later, I wanted to send some BTC to an exchange or buy a gift card (which was basically all I did with the app in those previous two months). However, the app denied access to my BTC. All I got was a cartoon lightning bolt saying, “We need to review your account. Contact support.”

At first, I was shocked. I didn't have my life savings in the app, but it wasn’t a trivial amount of sats either. So, there it was, right in my face for the first time: Not your keys, not your coins. I got angry with myself and with Strike too.

I contacted support.

Support wrote that to comply with regulations, they needed additional information (remember, I already did full KYC), like a pay stub, signed employee agreement, or tax statement.

This was my response:

Hey, the Bitcoin with which I funded my Strike account are savings from the past. I don't work currently, and I also have no tax statement because I just moved to Brazil last year. What exactly is the problem? I didn't do anything illegal or wrong. I expect this issue to be resolved immediately or you will lose a customer. I already regret using your service. I'm very disappointed.

Yeah, I was really pissed because I couldn’t access my sats. They locked me out. Just like that.

Strike answered:

Dear User,
Upon careful review, we have determined that your account has engaged in prohibited use. We regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.
At this time, your account has been permanently disabled. Please withdraw all remaining assets from your account within one week from receiving this message, and confirm with us when the withdrawal has been completed. After this timeframe, the account will be closed permanently. Please be advised that this decision is final.
Best regards,
The Strike Team

Okay… So now Strike accused me of “prohibited use” of their app.

I asked them to be kind and specify what prohibited use I engaged in. Because obviously, I don’t want to get in trouble or do anything illegal.

Their answer:

This decision is based on an assessment of different qualifications. Our customer support team can only confirm that we sent this message and assist with technical issues only. Support cannot reverse this decision, nor can they share any more details related to this matter.

Thank you for that great answer. I can really see you care about your customers and their experience. But I guess at that point, I wasn’t their customer anymore anyway.

Still, I sent them another message and asked who I could talk to. If there was anybody who could clarify what I did wrong. Remember, all I did was send and receive BTC and buy gift cards.

Their answer? Well, they never answered again. Just like that. That was it.

After this beautiful experience, I posted about it on Nostr.
And guess what?  nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle answered.
Woohooo!
He said I should send him a DM and he would happily look into the issue.
Cool! Now that’s what I call customer service.
So, I did. No answer.
I sent him another one. Again, no answer.
I sent another one or two. Still no answer.
This was 5 weeks ago.
I guess he is very busy.

What a joke Strike is.


Not my experience, and good luck on finding an exchange that puts you before its own self interest. You might be better off with robosats or some nonkyc stuff


Strike is great, I wouldn’t write it off based only on this.


If I don't manage to get my shit out, I'll have been fucked over by both Bitwage and Strike within a year.

Already knew custodians weren't shit for the long-term, but it looks like I'll be going back to the "fuck them" mindset entirely.


Many such cases.

If you’re going to use an app like strike, just use it to exchange your fiat for sats, then transfer to an open-source self custodial Bitcoin wallet.

Strike it is not freedom tech,it is not self sovereignty, and expectations that it will be can only lead to disappointment. I think deep down nostr:npub1dmcd5wqd3yku05svp6xqk5gyywek4cgg0w3dk63tcu0rmjxnanns5xutjm  would agree.

My 2 sats.


CashApp will be the same trap. When. Not if. They block peoples accounts.


I've tried several times you get started with Strike, but they wouldn't accept my bank account or any debit card I tried, so I was never able to get any fiat in to get sats out.  Sounds like all I'm missing out on is the potential for headaches and bad customer service.


All I wanted is an answer about what I did wrong. Is that asking too much?


Yeah, that is the big question. I would like to know the answer. My best guess is that the sats I sent there were coinjoined. That would also explain why they don't want to answer because they wouldn't look like the cool Bitcoin app anymore but rather like a subservient fiat whore. But who knows. Maybe it was something different.


Exactly my thoughts.


This is completely unacceptable nostr:npub1dmcd5wqd3yku05svp6xqk5gyywek4cgg0w3dk63tcu0rmjxnanns5xutjm .


If you need to ask someone else to pay for something on your behalf, don't be shocked if they refuse.

I like strike.  I use it as a bridge between my banks and my own self custodial apps...that's it!  I can't speak to their P2P or payment stuff, because I use my own apps for those things

nostr:nevent1qqsxum5v600kpyj6e6qf2xtht0prleuh2603we8mwzhxq55vfgzsauspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzvuhsygre6s6pw6myw3wj0y70xpljp9n7y7gjn98kaqtr9hscmgcsdsktkspsgqqqqqqs8fe9yk


Many such cases.
KYC fucks everyone in the end.


I would blame governments that force Strike to comply with bullshit laws that prevent the free movement of money. Businesses like Strike have to operate very conservatively because they are vulnerable to attacks by govts if they do anything that might even look illegal.


any 3rd party app, you're subjected to their TOS and they can rug you at any moment without any recourse


I stopped using strike when they withheld a paycheck from me. took ages to get access to my money


Always sad to see so many 'bitcoiners' still using this kyc traps at all.


I trust WoS more tbh....
nostr:nevent1qqsxum5v600kpyj6e6qf2xtht0prleuh2603we8mwzhxq55vfgzsauspz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7q3q082rg9mtv3696funeuc87gyk0cnez2v57m5pvvk7rrdrzpkzew6qxpqqqqqqznjzszr


My experience seems to vastly differ from this. I love Strike and will continue to recommend them to everyone that can use them, because the UX ses great, they've resolved past issues, and Jack Mallers personally does support, fixing issues when he can.

I did have a hiccup before though. I've been using Strike for several years. 2-3 years ago, I had some issues with my bank account or debit card. I was trying to use a specific account to do deposits from. That was a joint account and had my wife's name on it. Plaid sucks. The account kept getting disabled and I'd have to reenable it often. Jack worked on one of my support issues as well about a year ago. Strike has been solid ever since.

Compare this to other platforms and it seems that Strike is light-years ahead of other offerings. No service is perfect and every service will have issues thanks to government regulations. Strike seems to be at the head of their class in that regard.


Hanging everyday from a lifeline while these fuckers eating caviar at night time


My Experience with  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9

**TL;DR Strike is garbage.**

I started using Strike in the middle of March this year.

My first impression was that it was a great app. It had Lightning integrated, on-chain withdrawals were free, and the setup was pretty easy, even though I had to do a full KYC. After all, they are regulated and that is to be expected.

I began using Strike to send and receive BTC and buy gift cards directly within the app. I was pretty amazed at how easy everything worked. I loved the app. I even recommended it as an onboarding app for pre-coiner friends. Well, not anymore.

One day in May, about two months later, I wanted to send some BTC to an exchange or buy a gift card (which was basically all I did with the app in those previous two months). However, the app denied access to my BTC. All I got was a cartoon lightning bolt saying, “We need to review your account. Contact support.”

At first, I was shocked. I didn't have my life savings in the app, but it wasn’t a trivial amount of sats either. So, there it was, right in my face for the first time: Not your keys, not your coins. I got angry with myself and with Strike too.

I contacted support.

Support wrote that to comply with regulations, they needed additional information (remember, I already did full KYC), like a pay stub, signed employee agreement, or tax statement.

This was my response:

Hey, the Bitcoin with which I funded my Strike account are savings from the past. I don't work currently, and I also have no tax statement because I just moved to Brazil last year. What exactly is the problem? I didn't do anything illegal or wrong. I expect this issue to be resolved immediately or you will lose a customer. I already regret using your service. I'm very disappointed.

Yeah, I was really pissed because I couldn’t access my sats. They locked me out. Just like that.

Strike answered:

Dear User,
Upon careful review, we have determined that your account has engaged in prohibited use. We regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.
At this time, your account has been permanently disabled. Please withdraw all remaining assets from your account within one week from receiving this message, and confirm with us when the withdrawal has been completed. After this timeframe, the account will be closed permanently. Please be advised that this decision is final.
Best regards,
The Strike Team

Okay… So now Strike accused me of “prohibited use” of their app.

I asked them to be kind and specify what prohibited use I engaged in. Because obviously, I don’t want to get in trouble or do anything illegal.

Their answer:

This decision is based on an assessment of different qualifications. Our customer support team can only confirm that we sent this message and assist with technical issues only. Support cannot reverse this decision, nor can they share any more details related to this matter.

Thank you for that great answer. I can really see you care about your customers and their experience. But I guess at that point, I wasn’t their customer anymore anyway.

Still, I sent them another message and asked who I could talk to. If there was anybody who could clarify what I did wrong. Remember, all I did was send and receive BTC and buy gift cards.

Their answer? Well, they never answered again. Just like that. That was it.

After this beautiful experience, I posted about it on Nostr.
And guess what?  nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle answered.
Woohooo!
He said I should send him a DM and he would happily look into the issue.
Cool! Now that’s what I call customer service.
So, I did. No answer.
I sent him another one. Again, no answer.
I sent another one or two. Still no answer.
This was 5 weeks ago.
I guess he is very busy.

What a joke Strike is.


So far so good here. I’d like to be able to scan LNURL QR codes for withdrawals i.e. Fountain -> Strike.


Crazy frustrating!
I never even got as far as testing the app since I couldn’t make it through the KYC.
Received a similar email saying they couldn’t give a reason, which was the most frustrating part as there is literally no reason my KYC shouldn’t go through.

I posted about it and Jack responded but since I wanted to remain pseudonymous there was no way for him to help me.

Probably all for the best as I really don’t want/need a KYC exchange, but there were certain features I wanted to try out (and would still like to).

For me the most frustrating part was how they shut me down with absolutely no recourse to get it sorted out (same as with you it seems). I hope they can figure that part out.

It isn’t possible for nostr:npub1dmcd5wqd3yku05svp6xqk5gyywek4cgg0w3dk63tcu0rmjxnanns5xutjm to be the main customer support guy! (Although even that didn’t work for either of us for different reasons)


All KYC services are like that. I guess they have to develop some bs risk metric and then kick 1% to 5% of the people of the platform to demonstrate that they are compliant.


It’s not without tradeoffs, but it’s the best fintech app and the best way to buy bitcoin for purchases under $5k imo


This is unfortunately the reality of using a regulated, KYC platform


1. Convenient of you to skip the part about coinjoined sats. Mallers does global business within current international money laundering rules. Of course he was to chain analyze and defend Strike as non ML service, otherwise ins and outs of fiat system will be suspended immediately.
2. Sending nostr message... You sure you are connected to same nodes? Hell, I'm not even sure if you will read this reply.

Sorry about lost sats though.


:Clap:


I'm guessing you moved your sats onchain to Strike? And I'm also guessing these were coinjoined UTXOs.

My guess is this same thing would happen on any exchange. It sucks but that is the way it is. I've never done what you describe. Heard this before but not with Strike. Good to know. Thanks for sharing your experience.


I agree that the customer service at most exchanges is horrendous, and Strike is clearly no exception, but the policy of randomly terminating accounts seems like less of a company problem than a regulatory problem. Compliance is an absolute mess.


Strike won't specify because they are not allowed to. You are not communicating with Strike anyways, you are communicating with feds. They do this to everyone when you use the wallet for something the feds disagree with. Did you donate to Julian? That is likely grounds for a permanent account ban. There are others.
I laugh at all people that swear by these KYC apps that did a deal with the devil. Most notable are bitcoin-only apps: strike, river, and cash app.


Cash App has been good to me. What are good alternatives that have super low fees


nostr:npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424: Challenge offer: Donate some sats to a public WikiLeaks bitcoin address using your Strike wallet. Then say goodbye to Strike, forever.


Onward 🫡


I hate that this happened to you. This is disturbing and disappointing. My experience with Strike has been great, but I haven’t done much with it except take payments and zap Sats 丰.


Yes. Intelligence community rules. On the plus side, let it be the thing that radicalizes you against the weaponized financial system.


Strike is the antithesis of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system.

Strike reviews you, your account, and approves, prohibits, freezes rejects your transactions.

Bitcoin on the other hand just confirms your transaction. It's permissionless.

Forget crossing the fiat/btc divide. Just swap cash for btc and once in btc, stay in btc.

Sounds like you had a very good, albeit unpleasant, lesson.


Wow that’s terrible man


+1 for phoenix


Yes!! The exact same thing happened to me with River.


This is so true, River did the same thing to me and totally woke me up


Not trying to defend Strike really because that sounds infuriating, but there's zero chance they want this to be their experience. The problem is the absolutely horrific regulatory environment and everything they have to do, literally treating customers like an active threat, to prevent from being drowned in legal fees and a regulatory shitstorm.

Govt regulation is literal horror incarnate. I do not envy you for this experience, nor do i envy  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9 having to build through that bullshit avalanche.


I've seen a few interviews with Jack and it seems he intends Strike to be the Bitcoin wallet that absolutely newb folks to Bitcoin would want and like to use.

Most people here on nostr ATM are very well versed in Bitcoin and all that it entails but most people, the majority of people don't get it. In 2024 regular people are really starting to get interested in owning some bitcoin. I personally know a few people who haven't taken the plunge because they are afraid to mess up or lose money because they don't fully understand Bitcoin and don't intend to deep dive.

Strike has a UX that is very familiar to Fintech users and can drive mass adoption (which I'm sure Jack wanted to capitalize on as an entrepreneur).

All that is maybe beside the point though, I think this article was trying to encourage more P2P Exchanges. That, I think everyone on this thread can agree, we need more of.


I've used Cash app and have been pleased with it. No issues except for some amount limitations which increase through use.

Swann locked up my bitcoin for nine days before I could move it into cold storage which is ridiculous and worse than a bank that has to have 3 days for a deposited check to clear before you can use the funds.


In a future where base layer bitcoin becomes out of the average persons reach I fear this will become the default bitcoin experience.

How do we avoid the banking system 2.0?

Perhaps inflating the money supply has been solved but we are straying away from self sovereign permissionless money.


Yeah a lot of people have mentioned the lock up period (which, as I understand it, is just a low cost defense against bank reversals) as a frustration, but it was never really a point I cared about because I had been doing auto stack and withdrawal from the outset. I was always using them for long term savings so that never really made any difference, it was just going to my cold storage basically once a month.

Also Swan has 1 “n” in the company, my name has the double. No relation.


No one has created a technology that allows the entire population of the world to cheaply hold sovereign control over all of their money in any amount.

#Bitcoin is the only technology created that separates money and state, and creates a sovereign monetary supply and ownership system, but it never scaled at that layer, and neither does anything else.

It simply means we need to invent it. And we have the base layer to build it on. We’ve already found practical 10-50x scaling without a base layer compromise, and I can’t see why there is some hard wall preventing us from continuing to scale it out. Just because we can’t imagine it as this very second doesn’t mean it’s not possible.


What I mean by this is to counter the idea that we are “straying away” from sovereign money. We are not. It is the only thing we haven’t lost. The difference is that many many more people are finding out it is desirable to have this, and no technology yet can bring that to 8 billion people.


My Experience with  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9

**TL;DR Strike is garbage.**

I started using Strike in the middle of March this year.

My first impression was that it was a great app. It had Lightning integrated, on-chain withdrawals were free, and the setup was pretty easy, even though I had to do a full KYC. After all, they are regulated and that is to be expected.

I began using Strike to send and receive BTC and buy gift cards directly within the app. I was pretty amazed at how easy everything worked. I loved the app. I even recommended it as an onboarding app for pre-coiner friends. Well, not anymore.

One day in May, about two months later, I wanted to send some BTC to an exchange or buy a gift card (which was basically all I did with the app in those previous two months). However, the app denied access to my BTC. All I got was a cartoon lightning bolt saying, “We need to review your account. Contact support.”

At first, I was shocked. I didn't have my life savings in the app, but it wasn’t a trivial amount of sats either. So, there it was, right in my face for the first time: Not your keys, not your coins. I got angry with myself and with Strike too.

I contacted support.

Support wrote that to comply with regulations, they needed additional information (remember, I already did full KYC), like a pay stub, signed employee agreement, or tax statement.

This was my response:

Hey, the Bitcoin with which I funded my Strike account are savings from the past. I don't work currently, and I also have no tax statement because I just moved to Brazil last year. What exactly is the problem? I didn't do anything illegal or wrong. I expect this issue to be resolved immediately or you will lose a customer. I already regret using your service. I'm very disappointed.

Yeah, I was really pissed because I couldn’t access my sats. They locked me out. Just like that.

Strike answered:

Dear User,
Upon careful review, we have determined that your account has engaged in prohibited use. We regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.
At this time, your account has been permanently disabled. Please withdraw all remaining assets from your account within one week from receiving this message, and confirm with us when the withdrawal has been completed. After this timeframe, the account will be closed permanently. Please be advised that this decision is final.
Best regards,
The Strike Team

Okay… So now Strike accused me of “prohibited use” of their app.

I asked them to be kind and specify what prohibited use I engaged in. Because obviously, I don’t want to get in trouble or do anything illegal.

Their answer:

This decision is based on an assessment of different qualifications. Our customer support team can only confirm that we sent this message and assist with technical issues only. Support cannot reverse this decision, nor can they share any more details related to this matter.

Thank you for that great answer. I can really see you care about your customers and their experience. But I guess at that point, I wasn’t their customer anymore anyway.

Still, I sent them another message and asked who I could talk to. If there was anybody who could clarify what I did wrong. Remember, all I did was send and receive BTC and buy gift cards.

Their answer? Well, they never answered again. Just like that. That was it.

After this beautiful experience, I posted about it on Nostr.
And guess what?  nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle answered.
Woohooo!
He said I should send him a DM and he would happily look into the issue.
Cool! Now that’s what I call customer service.
So, I did. No answer.
I sent him another one. Again, no answer.
I sent another one or two. Still no answer.
This was 5 weeks ago.
I guess he is very busy.

What a joke Strike is.


I agree that there is no better solution and like you am hopeful for what scaling solutions the future will bring.

You are correct in pointing out that bitcoin itself is not straying away from sovereign money but what so many people are and are choosing to interact with is far from sovereign. In my mind the straying is more cultural that technological.

As bitcoin becomes increasingly mainstream the average bitcoiner strays from being an adversarial thinking libertarian.

It could be compared to the internet and how there is no physical limitation preventing each business from operating their own website yet increasing numbers of them choose to only advertise  and operate through Facebook and insragram relinquishing control in the process and opening themselves up to censorship, surveillance and deplatforming. These same people will probably choose to only interact with bitcoin in the same way.

These are my fears and I hope to be wrong. I am glad there are so many smart and capable people working on open and interoperable bitcoin layers and hope to see them win.


This sounds absolutely horrible and fascist. We demand an explanation @strike. We don’t care if a government is coercing and pressuring you. You need to take a stand. You cant treat plebs like this.


Yes. On-chain and coinjoined. But I am doing the same with Binance in the same jurisdiction with more volume and never had a problem.


1. Coinjoined or not. Until today there is no law that I am aware of that makes it illegal send coinjoined sats to an exchange. At least not in Brazil where I am. I‘m doing the same with more volume for a much longer time with Binance and never had a problem.
2. I guess when he answers to my post he sees my DM too, right? I‘m paying for nostr wine and I guess he is too.

Oh, and I didn’t lose any sats. As they said I had to withdraw the rest which I did. I’m bothered by the treatment as a criminal without explanation.


I was forced away from Gemini when they tried to lock my funds for withdrawing to a JoinMarket wallet.
Now more than ever, don’t leave your #Bitcoin on exchange. This is the best advice I can give.


Maybe the prohibited use was using it after moving to Brazil, whole different jurisdiction?


So the trip up was the bitcoin you funded with? If we could hear more about that it would give insight as to what surveillance is being used. How many hops back (or forward) they look, etc.


There are none. The trade offs to avoid the above is higher fees and less convenience. I’m implying using P2P markets like nostr:npub1p2psats79rypr8lpnl9t5qdekfp700x660qsgw284xvq4s09lqrqqk3m82 , nostr:npub1yul83qxn35u607er3m7039t6rddj06qezfagfqlfw4qk5z5slrfqu8ncdu , and nostr:npub1dllf8wmj6jk83r7chck6madmfgh3fges65ctpe5t6ueujazvvcvsh20tz5


Yeah, I wouldn’t even consider it a “wallet” honestly


💯

I don’t know why we’re still learning this lesson and shocked when this happens.


I got banned from cash app like the first month that you could buy and withdraw sats on it. I made one $50 purchase and withdrew it and the next morning I got a message that my account was closed due to suspicious transaction activity.


The fees aren't necessarily higher, that is a myth. But definitely it is less convenient. Let's be honest: Using bitcoin is a pain in the ass.
If you want convenience, big tech and big banks welcome you with open arms.


I had the same thing with Revolut. A scammer called the bank and asked to reverse the translation where he paid me for Bitcoin sold through p2p exchange. He accused them of facilitating illicit activities (accusing me of something illicit). The bank reversed his payment without lettinge me know and later sent me an email saying they are terminating the ralationship with me without any further details.


They have to follow the rules of money laundering agrements and while you could not provide the source of funds, the regulators give a shit about our past savings and they shot you off just like that.
It really sucks what happened to you and it should be a warning call to others but hey, look at the bright side. They did not confiscated your funds and let you withdraw gull amount in a week. That's pretty long imo.

I'm definitely not a huge #Strike spender and I will keep DCAing each day in small amounts because the service is flawless in what I'm using it. I also withdraw sats regularly from them to my cold storage.


It would be nice If Strike regularly update the blacklisted wallets (if they have this info) where we shouldn't send funds too,  just to give us a little advantage to look up for another path :)


They would lose their license to do business if they did that.


It's an intimidation tactic. Again, it is not initiated by Strike and Strike is not at liberty to even mention it outside of scripted blurbs their overlords let them say. For example, nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle will never weigh in on this. Neither will nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m or Alex (river)


They still can answer my question about what triggered this. That’s not how you should treat customers imo


I don’t know. But they where coinjoined.


Nope


Yeah, I get that. But in Brazil, you can convert about $7,000 per month from Bitcoin to fiat without paying tax and without even informing the Ministry of Finance. I was below that limit. And as far as I know, there is no law yet that makes coinjoins illegal. So, I don’t see the regulatory risk they were taking; hence why I asked. And not answering my question about it is just not cool.

Jack positions his company as the "cool Bitcoin company," whereas in reality, it looks like they are proactively compliant cowards.


Also, I‘m using Binance in the same way (except of buying gift cards) too and I never had a problem with them.


My own complaint with it is that it takes far too long to settle incoming funds from my bank. Recently, it took two weeks before I had access to my funds.   I can have same-day access at Coinbase.


I don’t get it. You wanted to send some bitcoin to Strike to sell? And you bought it somewhere else? Non KYC?


Hey man. I’m really sorry about this experience. This is awful.

Going to work with the team on what happened. Will get back to you here once I do


https://m.primal.net/JErU.png

nostr:note1dehge57lvzf94n5qj5vhwk7z8lnew45lzaj0ku9wvpfgcjs9pmeqmyfx98


I was using Strike for two months already when this happened. I‘ve sent Bitcoin there from cold storage (conjoined), I‘ve sent from the app to Binance and I’ve bought gift cards.


Sad to hear but not surprising; avoid US “regulated” services if at all possible - so many better alternatives


The #Strike app that closes people's account with no warning and attempts to take their crypto too?
nostr:nevent1qqsxum5v600kpyj6e6qf2xtht0prleuh2603we8mwzhxq55vfgzsauspz3mhxw309ucnydewxqhrqt338g6rsd3e9upzq7w5xstkker5t5ne8nes0usfvl38jy5efahgzceduxx6xyrv9ja5qvzqqqqqqyg999zy


My Experience with  nostr:npub1ex7mdykw786qxvmtuls208uyxmn0hse95rfwsarvfde5yg6wy7jq6qvyt9

**TL;DR Strike is garbage.**

I started using Strike in the middle of March this year.

My first impression was that it was a great app. It had Lightning integrated, on-chain withdrawals were free, and the setup was pretty easy, even though I had to do a full KYC. After all, they are regulated and that is to be expected.

I began using Strike to send and receive BTC and buy gift cards directly within the app. I was pretty amazed at how easy everything worked. I loved the app. I even recommended it as an onboarding app for pre-coiner friends. Well, not anymore.

One day in May, about two months later, I wanted to send some BTC to an exchange or buy a gift card (which was basically all I did with the app in those previous two months). However, the app denied access to my BTC. All I got was a cartoon lightning bolt saying, “We need to review your account. Contact support.”

At first, I was shocked. I didn't have my life savings in the app, but it wasn’t a trivial amount of sats either. So, there it was, right in my face for the first time: Not your keys, not your coins. I got angry with myself and with Strike too.

I contacted support.

Support wrote that to comply with regulations, they needed additional information (remember, I already did full KYC), like a pay stub, signed employee agreement, or tax statement.

This was my response:

Hey, the Bitcoin with which I funded my Strike account are savings from the past. I don't work currently, and I also have no tax statement because I just moved to Brazil last year. What exactly is the problem? I didn't do anything illegal or wrong. I expect this issue to be resolved immediately or you will lose a customer. I already regret using your service. I'm very disappointed.

Yeah, I was really pissed because I couldn’t access my sats. They locked me out. Just like that.

Strike answered:

Dear User,
Upon careful review, we have determined that your account has engaged in prohibited use. We regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.
At this time, your account has been permanently disabled. Please withdraw all remaining assets from your account within one week from receiving this message, and confirm with us when the withdrawal has been completed. After this timeframe, the account will be closed permanently. Please be advised that this decision is final.
Best regards,
The Strike Team

Okay… So now Strike accused me of “prohibited use” of their app.

I asked them to be kind and specify what prohibited use I engaged in. Because obviously, I don’t want to get in trouble or do anything illegal.

Their answer:

This decision is based on an assessment of different qualifications. Our customer support team can only confirm that we sent this message and assist with technical issues only. Support cannot reverse this decision, nor can they share any more details related to this matter.

Thank you for that great answer. I can really see you care about your customers and their experience. But I guess at that point, I wasn’t their customer anymore anyway.

Still, I sent them another message and asked who I could talk to. If there was anybody who could clarify what I did wrong. Remember, all I did was send and receive BTC and buy gift cards.

Their answer? Well, they never answered again. Just like that. That was it.

After this beautiful experience, I posted about it on Nostr.
And guess what?  nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle answered.
Woohooo!
He said I should send him a DM and he would happily look into the issue.
Cool! Now that’s what I call customer service.
So, I did. No answer.
I sent him another one. Again, no answer.
I sent another one or two. Still no answer.
This was 5 weeks ago.
I guess he is very busy.

What a joke Strike is.


I saw this note the other day. Sorry to hear this. I’ve used Strike for a few years and haven’t had any issues to speak of. Did you find another service to use? Share thoughts on what you’re doing now so others can learn.


You were flagged as high risk by the banking overlords, nothing to do with Strike. KYC on-ramps monitor, inbound and outbound, frequency, amount, time on exchange, etc. and see if you’re using it as a pass-through. Take the hit and move on brother 🫡


Thanks!


Awesome to see they resolved the situation. They have grown tremendously in the last 3 years so the possibility of a mishap here and there is certainly understandable (in my mind). I also understand that you are concerned with reliability given this, but it’s important to remember that they did fix it and you will not find many CEO’s willing to talk to the end user and assist in getting things fixed.


Fair point


Jack , have your team check out my account. 3 million sats siphon off.


I've been a Strike user since the beginning, and this has been far from my experience. I think once this is resolved you should give it another shot. They are globally expanding, so I imagine things can get out of hand


😂 all bitcoin activity is suspicious 🤨