Key takeaways
- Strike lets eligible cash balances earn bitcoin without a minimum balance or monthly fee requirement.
- Cross River Bank holds the cash and provides eligible FDIC insurance up to $250,000.
- Strike pays earnings only on dollars, so the bitcoin rewards never compound inside the account.
Strike introduced bitcoin interest on eligible cash balances. Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, holds the cash and pays the interest, while Strike is not a bank.
Strike advertises 3.6% annual interest paid in bitcoin, and the rate is subject to change. The feature has no minimum balance to enroll and no monthly fee.
Cash Earns Bitcoin, Not More Cash
The US cash-balance feature turns eligible cash balances into bitcoin interest. Strike changes the reward asset while Cross River Bank continues to hold the underlying cash balance.
Strike advertises 3.6% annual interest paid in bitcoin, with the advertised rate subject to change. The feature therefore connects a cash balance to bitcoin earnings without turning Strike into the bank that holds the cash.
The Reward Does Not Compound
Users earn only on their cash balance, never on their bitcoin balance. Bitcoin earned through the Strike feature does not generate more bitcoin inside the account, so those earnings do not compound.
The feature has no minimum balance to enroll and no monthly fee. Those terms let smaller eligible cash balances earn bitcoin, while the lack of compounding keeps every additional reward tied to cash rather than bitcoin already earned.
The Bank Still Sits Underneath
Cross River Bank holds the cash and pays the interest. Eligible cash receives Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protection up to $250,000, and Strike explicitly says it is not a bank.
That custody arrangement places Cross River Bank under the Strike cash-balance feature. Strike presents the bitcoin interest, but Cross River Bank remains the institution that holds the cash and pays the interest.
The feature links a regulated cash balance to a bitcoin reward. It does not change the stated roles: Strike is not a bank, and Cross River Bank holds the eligible cash that receives insurance up to $250,000.
Why It Matters
Bitcoin accumulation gains a fiat incentive when eligible cash earns 3.6% annual interest paid in bitcoin, although the advertised rate can change. Cross River Bank still holds the cash and pays the interest, which leaves custody and counterparty exposure inside the banking system. Savers win a low-friction route from cash to sats with no monthly fee, while Strike and Cross River Bank keep the account relationship. Sovereignty arrives through self-custody because Bitcoin held through an intermediary remains subject to that gatekeeper, even when eligible cash receives FDIC insurance up to $250,000.
