Opening a Strike account in the UK

To buy bitcoin, especially as you start your bitcoin journey, the easiest way is to buy it from a bitcoin exchange. Strike is an excellent choice if you’re in the UK:

• Strike is bitcoin only.
• Strike allows you to buy for no trading fees if you set regular orders.
• You can withdraw bitcoin to your own wallet with no transaction costs if you are prepared to wait 24 hours for the transfer.
• They create a bank account in your name to pay money into. This is great because your everyday bank you use for sending funds from is unlikely to complain as you’re sending funds to yourself (some UK banks don’t let their customers send money to crypto exchanges).

To use Strike you must download their mobile phone app (iOS or Android).

Opening an Account

The UK government has had one of the most negative attitudes to Bitcoin compared to many countries, such as the US, which are actively embracing it. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has enforced all exchanges to carry risk warnings (with an extremely annoying banner which remains covering a significant portion of the mobile screen even during normal app usage), as well as making it hard to open an account: they require users to answer a series of word salad questions correctly, and then to wait for a 24 hour “cooling off” period before the app can be used. THe UK is the only country to do this.

I know from experience that this puts a lot of people off. Which is very ironic! The FCA does not stop people from gambling their life savings away on sports betting sites, or keeping their money in bank accounts where their money buys less and less every year due to inflation, but is committed to scaring people off from buying the best performing savings asset in history.

You can see the FCA questions below, along with the answers.

Some of the risks are the same if you hold shares in an ISA, or even a bank. And it is worth noting that the majority of the risks in the questions can be removed if you withdraw your bitcoin from Strike and hold it in your own wallet. You can learn how to do this on this site.

To begin, you need to download the app onto your phone, confirm your email address, take a photo of an ID document such as your driving licence, and record a short video of your face. Similar actions are required now to open any financial account, including banks or share brokerages.

Account Opening Questions & Answers

Question 1

Which of the following best describes Strike’s business?

1. Strike allows users to buy and sell bitcoin along with offering other bitcoin functionality.
2. Strike is a staking service allowing users to stake various crypto asset to earn yield.
3. Strike allows users to interact with various Web3 protocols across different blockchains.

Answer: 1

Question 2

Crypto assets are considered a high risk investment. Which of the following statements are true?

1. Diversification is important and retail investors are advised not to invest more than 10% of their net assets in restricted mass market investments including crypto assets.
2. Crypto assets are potentially complex and volatile, differing significantly from mainstream investments. As a result they can be considered high risk investments.
3. Both of the above are correct.

Answer: 3

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true?

1. Bitcoin on-chain transactions are final and not reversible. If I send bitcoin to an incorrect address, or send bitcoin to a third party, I will not be refunded in case of any subsequent losses (such as through cyber-attackes, loss of private keys, insolvency, fraud or financial crime), and may lose all of my bitcoin.
2. Because Bitcoin transactions utilise blockchain technology, this minimises my risk of loss for instance through operational risks, loss of private keys, or financial crime.
3. Blockchain technology is highly regulated. This means that if I send bitcoin to the wrong address, or I suffer losses such as through fraud, I can apply to the authorities for a refund.

Answer: 1

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true?

1. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protections generally do not apply to cryptoasset investments and investors should not expect to be protected by them if something goes wrong.
2. Generally speaking, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate crypto activities, and Strike is not authorised by the FCA.
3. Both of the above.

Answer: 1

Question 5

Which of the following statements is true?

1. Cryptoassets are low-risk investments with strong investor protections, ensuring investors do not lose all the money they invest.
2. Cryptoasset prices can vary dramatically from day to day and may not be suitable for all investors. Retail investors should not invest momre than 10% of their net assets in restricted mass market investments, including cryptoassets. An investor may lose all the money they invest in a cryptoasset.
3. Whilst cryptoasset prices can rise quickly, they’re almost guaranteed never to go down. There is a very low risk of me losing money that invest in cryptoassets.

Answer: 2

Question 6

Which of the following statements is true?

1. If Strike is subject to operational risks such as an outage or cyber attack, I may experience service delays including an inability to buy or sell assets. I am also vulnerable to potential financial crime.
2. Operational and financial crime risks do not apply to me because bitcoin is a cryptoasset stored on a blockchain and Strike will protect me from financial crime.
3. Even in the event of an operational outage affecting Strike, I would be able to sell my bitcoin because bitcoin trades 24/7/365.

Answer: 1

Question 7

Fill in the blanks:

Strike is a custodial bitcoin service provider. This means that when bitcoin is held in my Strike account, it is held by ----- for -----. As with any custodial model, I also take the risk that the bitcoin may be unavailable to me if Strike becomes insolvent.

1. me / me
2. a bank / me
3. Strike / me

Answer: 3