Previously generally known as Lightning Pay, Stacked often is the solely Bitcoin change left standing after a collection of mergers and bankruptcies within the New Zealand crypto business. Doubling down on their imaginative and prescient to make Bitcoin “helpful as cash,” they simply launched a self-custodied Lightning pockets.
Discovered at StackedBitcoin.com, the corporate has taken a distinct path than bigger exchanges within the nation, which, based on Simon, co-founder and CRO of Stacked, are going all-in on promoting custodial and paper bitcoin. Exchanges like Sharesies are constructed following the Robinhood mannequin, with no path to withdraw crypto to self-custodied wallets. Whereas EasyCrypto, a preferred swap change that obtained consumer fiat and despatched crypto again to consumer wallets — much like the Bull Bitcoin mannequin — was lately purchased out by SwyFTX and shut down, funneling its userbase to the mum or dad custodial change.
Stacked, a 4-person firm that’s seen important progress within the nation in recent times, believes that is the incorrect route for the native Bitcoin business, and as such has launched a self-custodied Bitcoin and Lightning pockets that enhances their very own swap change providing. Customers ship fiat to Stacked and obtain Bitcoin into their self-custodied pockets of selection. They will additionally pay utility payments and even their hire with Bitcoin via Stacked, who settle out the fiat recipients through New Zealand’s revolutionary Open Banking funds framework.
The Stacked pockets, which includes a smooth and trendy design, makes use of Breez and Spark SDKs within the again finish to supply customers a secure and easy-to-use Bitcoin expertise, with full Lightning Community integration. The app lets customers buy Bitcoin manually and on a schedule through Autostack a DCA fashion set it and overlook it buy function. Customers may handle contacts within the app to pay with bitcoin on their finish and ship fiat to recipients. The nation has no capital positive aspects tax; as a substitute, Bitcoin earnings are taxed as revenue, leading to what could also be a way more favorable regulatory setting for hyper Bitcoinization.
Stacked has been focusing its efforts to make Bitcoin helpful as cash within the Bitcoin Basin, a rising round economic system in Queenstown, New Zealand, which boasts round Bitcoin-accepting retailers thus far. The corporate has created a devoted web site for the neighborhood and hosts common occasions within the space, encouraging the native bitcoin economic system.
Within the 2025 monetary 12 months, 227,000 New Zealanders have been recognized as distinctive cryptoasset customers partaking in round 7 million transactions. Native cryptocurrency change volumes reached roughly NZ$7.8 billion. Stacked initiatives the native digital asset market will to generate income exceeding US$200 million in 2026. Almost 50% of New Zealanders are present or potential Bitcoin and digital asset buyers, based on 2024 analysis by Protocol Idea.
This submit Stacked (previously Lightning Pay) launches self-custodial Lightning pockets as New Zealand’s final main non-custodial Bitcoin change first appeared on Bitcoin Journal and is written by Juan Galt.
