Previously often called Lightning Pay, Stacked would be the solely Bitcoin trade left standing after a sequence of mergers and bankruptcies within the New Zealand crypto business. Doubling down on their imaginative and prescient to make Bitcoin “useful as money,” they simply launched a self-custodied Lightning pockets.
Discovered at StackedBitcoin.com, the corporate has taken a unique path than bigger exchanges within the nation, which, in line with 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 trade that acquired consumer fiat and despatched crypto again to consumer wallets — just like the Bull Bitcoin mannequin — was not too long ago purchased out by SwyFTX and shut down, funneling its userbase to the guardian custodial trade.
Stacked, a 4-person firm that’s seen vital development within the nation lately, 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 trade providing. Customers ship fiat to Stacked and obtain Bitcoin into their self-custodied pockets of alternative. They may pay utility payments and even their lease with Bitcoin via Stacked, who settle out the fiat recipients by way of New Zealand’s modern Open Banking funds framework.
The Stacked pockets, which incorporates a smooth and trendy design, makes use of Breez and Spark SDKs within the again finish to supply customers a steady and easy-to-use Bitcoin expertise, with full Lightning Community integration. The app lets customers buy Bitcoin manually and on a schedule by way of Autostack a DCA type set it and overlook it buy characteristic. 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 earnings, leading to what could also be a way more favorable regulatory atmosphere 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 so far. The firm has created a devoted web site for the group and hosts common occasions within the space, encouraging the native bitcoin economic system.
Within the 2025 monetary yr, 227,000 New Zealanders have been recognized as distinctive cryptoasset customers partaking in round 7 million transactions. Native cryptocurrency trade volumes reached roughly NZ$7.8 billion. Stacked tasks the native digital asset market will to generate income exceeding US$200 million in 2026. Practically 50% of New Zealanders are present or potential Bitcoin and digital asset traders, in line with 2024 analysis by Protocol Theory.
