Getting Started with Bitcoin
How to buy bitcoin in New Zealand
Written by Brandon - Lightning Pay Team
Updated Nov 18, 2024
Get Started with Bitcoin in New Zealand
We've been there. The moment you've decided to find out just what it takes to buy and hold your own bitcoin. You're probably nervous, and understandably. Bitcoin is a little different than the world of fiat money. Here, you're taking responsibility for your own wealth, rather than accepting the "always increasing debt we create out of thin air is money made simple" paradigm of the traditional finance world.
Whatever reason has brought you here, great. We're here to help. We aim to make it as easy as possible to buy your first bitcoin, and deliver a wide range of learning resources, specifically tailored to bitcoin in New Zealand. Below, we'll discuss the basic steps to get started buying your first bitcoin.
Get a Bitcoin Wallet
How is bitcoin secured?
You may have heard the phrase "not your keys, not your bitcoin."
Bitcoin is secured by "keys," specifically, a private key. This a your secret that allows you, and nobody else, to transfer your bitcoin to a new address or destination.
Private keys are typically presented to users of bitcoin wallets in the form of a "Seed Phrase." This is a list of 12 to 24 words that make it simple to backup and store your private key in a human readable format.
The most important thing to understand about your keys is that they are for you, and nobody else. Here are some simple rules to keeping your bitcoin key secure:
- Write down your seed phrase. Ideally, you'll store it on a medium that is fire and/or water resistant, and can be kept physically secure. But for now, the important part is to write it down and hide it away.
- Never give your seed phrase to anyone, ever. No company or individual will ever ask you to do this if they have your interest at heart.
- Don't take photos of your seed phase, store it in the cloud, or anywhere online.
With your keys in hand, you can be sure that you are the only one with permission to move your funds.
Bitcoin Wallets
The next step is to choose your first bitcoin wallet. They come with a wide range of forms and functions.
In this article, we'll cover a few basic wallet categories. We aim to keep it simple in this article, but if you want to learn more, we'll provide further resources as well. To get us started, the term "Wallet" covers a number of steps/functions that are required to use bitcoin:
- Viewing your bitcoin balance and transaction history
- Receiving payments
- Creating new transactions
- Using your private keys to sign those transactions and allow your bitcoin to be spent
These jobs can be done in one place, or separately, depending on how you set things up. In general, this section will cover just a few basic types of bitcoin wallet in the aim that you'll be able to choose the one you want to start with.
Mobile Lightning Wallet
A Bitcoin Lightning wallet is a great option for small amounts. These wallets are connected to the Bitcoin Lightning Network, which is a payments network built on top of the Bitcoin Network, optimised for low fees and fast payments, and even offers some privacy benefits compared to on-chain wallets. While they're ideal for spending and receiving payments, they're not the best place to store a large amount of bitcoin. They are best suited for amounts similar to what you would normally carry in cash in your physical wallet.
Lightning wallets come in many flavours, with different functions and tradeoffs. We have a good overview on the most popular options below.
Mobile Bitcoin Wallet
The next group of wallets is a more traditional and standard bitcoin wallet. Mobile wallets offer the convenience of using your mobile device, and by default, typically have the all of the functionality of a bitcoin "wallet" in one place, that is: balance tracking, transactions, and signing payments. When used in this standard way, your keys are in an internet connected device, so you should once again only hold your spending money this way, not your savings.
Some of these wallets can be upgraded in terms of security by pairing them with a hardware wallet (see below), making them suitable for larger amounts as well.
- Recommendations: Bluewallet, Blockstream Green, Nunchuk
Desktop Bitcoin Wallet
Similar to a mobile wallet, you can run a desktop wallet as a standalone wallet software that does all of the jobs required to use bitcoin (balances, transaction coordination, and signing). Alternatively, you can pair them with a hardware wallet for a higher level of security for your keys. The major difference between a mobile wallet and a desktop wallet is in the user interface, which typically has more options and is more explicit about the way bitcoin works (which is a great thing if you want to learn).
- Recommendation: Sparrow, Bluewallet, Blockstream Green
Hardware Wallet
A hardware wallet is what most people mean when they use the term "cold storage." The main job of the hardware wallet is to create and store your bitcoin keys offline, and sign transactions for spending in a way that keeps those keys away from any internet connected devices. This dramatically reduces the likelihood that someone would steal your keys, and therefore your bitcoin.
Using a hardware wallet, we use the offline device for transaction signing, but still keep enough information in the mobile or desktop software to view balances, receive payments, and create transactions.
Once you have enough bitcoin that its value is more than you'd be willing to carry with you in cash, its probably time for a hardware wallet.
Learn about Bitcoin
If you're new to bitcoin, or even if you've been around for awhile, the more you learn about bitcoin, the more comfortable you'll be navigating a new monetary technology. Here's a few places you can start.
- Lightning Pay Learn - There's a good amount of getting started articles we've written right here at Lightning Pay, with more always in the works.
- Bitcoiner.guide - Written by a bitcoiner, going by the pseudonym "Bitcoin Q&A" this is good guide full of definitions, terms and basic instructions on how to get started using bitcoin.
- Bitcoin Resources by Jameson Lopp - Just a great collection of resources, pointing you at various places on the web, full of detail about bitcoin.
Join the community
Another great way to learn about bitcoin is to meet other people who know a lot about bitcoin! The best way to do that is to join a meetup.
Kiwi Bitcoin Guide is a great place to start and find a community near you.
Buy Your First Bitcoin with Lightning Pay
- Sign Up at Lightning Pay - Its easy, just go to the Lightning Pay App, and choose "Register" or "Sign In"
- Verify your account - In order to buy bitcoin at Lightning pay, you'll need to verify your identity
- Choose your withdrawal option - You can either preconfigure an address (Lightning or Bitcoin), or enter it as you go.
- Choose your payment option - Akahu is easiest, but we offer Poli or Card payments as well
- That's it!
For a full run-through, go to our article "Buy Bitcoin at Lightning Pay."
Getting Started with Bitcoin - Summary
That's it. It's easy to get started.
- Choose a Wallet
- Protect your Seed Phrase
- Learn more about bitcoin
- Sign up at Lightning Pay, and buy your first bitcoin!