Strike Account Setup
Strike is a payments platform that supports Bitcoin Lightning and on-chain payments. Lightning Enable connects to your Strike account via API to create invoices and process payments.
Strike is the default payment provider for Lightning Enable — merchants who make no explicit choice are served by Strike. It supports preimage extraction for L402, accepts multi-currency invoices (USD, EUR, GBP, BTC), and requires no KYB to get started.
Why Strike?
Strike provides:
- Lightning Network support — Instant Bitcoin payments
- On-chain Bitcoin — Accept on-chain payments alongside Lightning
- Multi-currency — Create invoices in USD, EUR, GBP, or BTC
- No per-transaction fee — No processing fee for receiving Lightning payments
- Preimage support — Required for L402 protocol (pay-per-request)
- Instant setup — No KYB required to start accepting payments
Lightning Enable uses Strike as a payment provider, giving you:
- API middleware architecture (we never touch funds — Strike facilitates custody and settlement)
- Bring Your Own API Key (BYOA) model
- Full control over your payment settings
Create Strike Account
Step 1: Sign Up
- Visit dashboard.strike.me
- Create an account or sign in
- Complete identity verification if prompted
Step 2: Generate an API Key
- Go to API Keys in the Strike dashboard
- Click Create API Key
- Name your key (e.g., "Lightning Enable Production")
- Enable the following scopes:
partner.receive-request.read— Read receive requests (invoices)partner.receive-request.create— Create receive requestspartner.webhooks.manage— Manage webhook subscriptions
- Click Create and copy your API key
Strike's dashboard sometimes labels the second scope "write" rather than "create". The scope identifier Strike actually issues is partner.receive-request.create — grant whichever label allows creating receive requests.
Scopes are the step people most often get wrong, and a key missing one fails quietly at your first real payment. If anything here is unclear, email support@lightningenable.com before you go live — a real person reads it, and we're happy to walk through the setup with you.
Strike only shows the full API key once at creation. Copy it immediately and store it securely. If lost, you'll need to create a new key.
Step 3: Configure in Lightning Enable
- Log in to the Lightning Enable dashboard
- Go to Settings
- Under Payment Provider, select Strike
- Paste your Strike API key
- Click Save Key
- Click Validate to verify the key works
API Key Scopes
Validate in Dashboard → Settings → Payment Provider (and POST /api/merchant/validate-strike) checks that the key can read receive requests and then creates a 1-sat Lightning invoice that expires after 60 seconds. A key that passes will mint L402 challenges. A key that can read but not create fails validation with the missing scope named, so fix it there rather than on your first real challenge.
All three scopes above are required. API Keys is the reference for what each one does and how to rotate keys. Validate confirms the two receive-request scopes; partner.webhooks.manage is exercised when Lightning Enable registers your webhook on the first challenge.
Lightning Enable automatically registers a webhook subscription on your first payment to receive real-time payment notifications.
Environments
Lightning Enable's hosted platform connects to Strike's production environment:
| Details | |
|---|---|
| API URL | https://api.strike.me/v1 |
| Dashboard | https://dashboard.strike.me |
| Bitcoin | Real mainnet Bitcoin |
Strike does offer a sandbox environment (https://api.dev.strike.me/v1), but the Strike API base URL on Lightning Enable's hosted platform is a platform-wide setting pointed at production — it is not selectable per merchant. The practical way to test your integration is to create a small real invoice (e.g., $1 USD) and pay it with a Lightning wallet.
How Payments Work with Strike
When a customer pays through Lightning Enable with Strike as the provider:
- Lightning Enable calls Strike's receive-requests API to create an invoice
- Strike returns both a Lightning invoice (BOLT11) and an on-chain Bitcoin address
- The customer chooses to pay via Lightning or on-chain
- Strike sends a webhook when payment is received
- Lightning Enable updates the payment status and notifies your platform
Payment Methods
| Method | Speed | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Instant (~1 second) | Small-to-medium payments |
| On-chain | ~10+ minutes (1 confirmation) | Larger payments, fallback |
Both methods are presented automatically on the payment page — the customer chooses.
Refunds with Strike
Strike does not have a dedicated refund API. When you initiate a refund for a Strike payment through Lightning Enable:
- Lightning refunds — Processed as a new outgoing Lightning payment to the customer
- On-chain refunds — Processed as a new outgoing on-chain payment to the customer
This is handled transparently by Lightning Enable's refund service.
Account Security
API Key Best Practices
- Never share your API keys publicly
- Store a copy only in a password manager or secret store — Lightning Enable encrypts your key at rest (AES-256-GCM) once you save it in the dashboard
- Create separate keys for different integrations if needed
- Rotate keys periodically
- Revoke unused keys in the Strike dashboard
Troubleshooting
API Key Validation Failed
If validation reports a failure in the Lightning Enable dashboard:
- Verify the key was copied correctly (no extra spaces)
- Check that the key hasn't been revoked in Strike dashboard
- Try creating a new API key with all three required scopes
Validation reads your Strike account profile, so a key missing one or more of the three required scopes still validates successfully. A scope gap surfaces later — as a failed invoice or a webhook that never arrives. See API Keys.
Payments Not Being Created
- Verify your Strike API key has the receive-request write/create scope (
partner.receive-request.create) - Check the Lightning Enable dashboard for error messages
- Ensure your Lightning Enable subscription is active
Webhooks Not Arriving
Lightning Enable auto-registers webhooks on first payment. If status updates aren't arriving:
- Check your Strike dashboard for webhook subscriptions
- Verify your API key has
partner.webhooks.managescope - Try creating a new payment to trigger re-registration
Next Steps
Once your Strike account is configured:
- Webhooks — Receive signed payment notifications at your callback URL (Lightning Enable auto-registers the Strike subscription on your first payment)
- First Payment — Test your integration end to end with a small payment
- Product Overview — See all Lightning Enable products
- Agentic Commerce — Set up pay-per-request APIs
- Dashboard Guide — Configure your first proxy