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It’s been a busy year for bitcoin financial services startup Lightning Pay, which kicked off 2024 with a trial of the company’s technology demonstrating how retailers could leverage Bitcoin and the Lightning Network to reduce their payment transaction costs.
Lightning Pay won the Startup of the Year Award at the Web3NZ and Blockchain NZ Awards last week for its innovative Bitcoin exchange and payments platform, leveraging the Lightning network to enable Kiwis to move seamlessly between the Bitcoin network and the legacy financial system. The startup ended 2024 with a focus on building banking-like services on Bitcoin, which it will pursue in 2025.
The company’s seamless Bitcoin exchange experience, combined with the ability to save users money on monthly bills, has set it apart in the industry.
“They have delivered a fast, functional solution that addresses a real need—merchants can accept BTC quickly, cheaply, and compliantly without exposure to volatility, while BTC holders can spend their Bitcoin and retain more of their money in a trusted currency, all while avoiding costly payWave and processing fees,” the community noted within their submissions.
Lightning Pay co-founders Robert Clarkson, Simon Collins, and Brandon Bucher
Web3NZ caught up with Lighting Pay Co-founders Simon Collins and Brandon Bucher to reflect on what the company achieved in 2024, and what’s in store for next year.
What was the most significant development in 2024 in the Web3 space from your perspective?
“We see 2024 as the year that demonstrated how Bitcoin is different to the rest of crypto. The financial system has had to acknowledge that Bitcoin is a crucial asset in a digital world and an even better store of value than gold.
“The creation of new ETF products and an emerging debate about nation state adoption through Strategic Bitcoin Reserves has cemented Bitcoin as the asset and financial network of the future.
“At Lightning Pay we also loved watching the transition from solutions being built for Bitcoin to being built on Bitcoin. The next generation of cool stuff lives on the Bitcoin blockchain and Lightning Network natively – like NOSTR and ECASH.
Have developments with Lightning Pay and blockchain-based payments in 2024 made you any more optimistic that the technology will gain wider adoption for payments in the near future?
“100%! Watching our customers use Lightning Pay to pay bills, shop online and in-person, and save their personal wealth in Bitcoin has been the most rewarding part of building Lightning Pay.
“Every day, we see first hand how incredible the Lightning Network is as a payments solution—it's fast, cheap, secure, private, and instantly settles transactions. On top of that, it offers modern conveniences like contactless payments, surpassing the capabilities of legacy systems.
“Bitcoin as savings is the first domino to fall, and it is falling hard. As the world adopts better money as savings, they’ll begin demanding better money for payment.”
What’s your big objective for 2025?
“Great question – we have so many plans! Being focused only on bitcoin means we can build a better bitcoin experience.
“For this year, we have three key areas of focus to deliver on that promise. First is smoothing out the bitcoin as savings technology experience, from dollars in your bank account, buying efficiently via the Lightning Network, and saving for the long term secure wallet.
“Secondly, this means finding better ways for users that have chosen better money for savings to make use of that value directly in New Zealand.
“And Lastly, this means focusing on education. We believe bitcoin is better money, not just a financial investment, and part of our job is to show Kiwi’s what better money looks like.”
🌐 Stay tuned on the developments of Lightning Pay at https://lightningpay.nz/.