QUEENSTOWN - Lightning Pay NZ has rebranded as Stacked and launched its new self-custodial Bitcoin mobile wallet, which the company describes as the first built in New Zealand.
The Queenstown-based platform, founded in 2023, began as a Lightning Network payments service but has grown to offer Bitcoin exchange, bill payments, recurring auto-buy, and merchant tools.
The platform has deep roots in New Zealand’s Bitcoin community. Its founders have been involved with projects including BitKiwi, TheBitcoinBasin, and Bitcoin Policy Institute NZ, and the platform has gained traction in forums such as r/NZBitcoin, KiwiBitcoinGuide.org, and NZ's Bitcoin-only meetups.
Existing customers will transition with no disruption to accounts or services.
The rebrand and wallet launch come as New Zealand’s crypto sector consolidates rapidly.
A Market in Flux
The timing is notable. Easy Crypto, once New Zealand’s largest locally owned crypto platform, was acquired by Australian exchange Swyftx and ceased independent trading after 8 years on 31 March.
Sharesies has entered the Bitcoin and crypto space but routes user holdings through a third-party custodian, Kraken, with no direct withdrawal to personal wallets available.
Not all Easy Crypto users have transitioned to overseas-owned alternatives.
Community discussions on platforms such as Reddit’s r/NZBitcoin have highlighted reluctance among some Kiwis to move away from locally owned services, citing preferences for New Zealand-based operators that maintain greater domestic control.
Other New Zealand-owned platforms active in the space include Pay It Now (PIN) in Christchurch, which provides buy/sell services alongside merchant and real-world spending tools.
PIN has gained notable traction on the Cryptocurrency NZ Facebook group.
CoinHQ, an Auckland-based platform founded in 2021 that aimed to offer institutional-grade cold custody, has faced significant challenges getting off the ground.
A source told Cryptocurrency NZ that CoinHQ was unable to fully launch after spending more than a year attempting to secure a banking relationship, approaching nearly every bank in the country.
Prospective new local crypto platforms have quickly encountered the moat posed by New Zealand’s ongoing banking de-risking, with almost all struggling to secure the bank accounts they need to operate.
One New Zealand crypto user referred to the banking crisis as the “great filter”.
When asked about Stacked’s banking, co-founder Simon Collins shared insight.
“We bank with BNZ. It was, and remains REALLY hard to convince a bank to take on cryptocurrency businesses. There were rumours (started by a competitor) that we got in by mistake and then through some combination of luck or skill were allowed to remain. But that’s not true - BNZ were prepared to kick the tyres on the business and in particular the non-custodial bit was what got us over the line.”
“Maintaining banking is also quite tough. We have really leaned into working with the bank on the things that they worry about. And now we’re often used internally at BNZ as a case study for how best practice looks in risk management in both the open banking/bitcoin/financial services space. So we have built trust with the bank over several years.” he added.
“..we think we’re really lucky to have the bank, and the people inside the bank, that we do. They have made this a million times easier than it could have been if they had decided not to take a punt on us.”
Inland Revenue data for the 2025 financial year identified 227,000 unique cryptoasset users in New Zealand, with local exchange trading volumes reaching around $7.2 billion to $7.8 billion.
Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of activity.
Nearly half of New Zealanders have owned crypto, currently own it or are considering future investment, according to earlier Easy Crypto research.
"We built Lightning Pay to make Bitcoin payments easy in New Zealand, but our customers quickly showed us they wanted much more than that." Simon Collins said.
"Most people were using us to buy and sell Bitcoin, pay bills, set up recurring buys - Lightning Pay just didn’t capture what we’d become. Stacked is a name that fits us now, and will suit us well into the future."
The company maintains a strict Bitcoin-only focus.
The new Stacked.com website, launched earlier today.
Self Custody Focus
Alongside the rebrand, Stacked launched its mobile wallet, described as New Zealand’s first locally built self-custodial Bitcoin wallet.
Stacked's developers sought to solve longstanding Bitcoin pain points - slow confirmation times, confusing addresses and clunky experiences - and make the network more accessible for everyday saving, spending and P2P use.
"Stacked is built around a simple idea: Bitcoin is better money," Brandon Bucher, co-founder and chief executive, said.
"Most platforms still treat it as something to trade, our job is to make that idea real for people. The new mobile platform does exactly that, giving customers a way to save, spend, and use their Bitcoin while still holding it themselves - owning it, not just accessing it."
Rob Clarkson, co-founder and chief technology officer, added:
"The promise of Bitcoin was peer-to-peer money that anyone can use. The reality has been confirmation times, confusing addresses, and clunky interfaces. Stacked Wallet is our solution to that problem, a smooth and intuitive app for people who want easy access to the full power of the Bitcoin economy."
Long-Term Ambitions
Collins indicated the team expects Bitcoin to integrate more deeply into daily financial flows over the next decade.
"People who use Bitcoin are at an advantage - they aren’t subject to the debasement of the dollar, captures of their funds by third parties, or limitations on its use by arbitrary rules," he said.
"They also get relatively wealthier over time."
The shift to a .com domain reflects potential future international expansion, though the immediate focus remains on the New Zealand market.
"We are building Stacked for Kiwis first. Then the world," Collins said.
The company plans to raise capital to accelerate hiring and product development amid what he described as a vacuum left by recent platform changes.
The founding team has previously engaged with more than 20 Members of Parliament on Bitcoin topics.
Stacked's approach persists in contrast to broader market trends, where consolidation and custody outsourcing are common.
The phrase “Not your keys, not your crypto” remains a common phrase in the Bitcoiner's lexicon.