As time progresses, the rate at which technological developments are impacting our lives continues to accelerate. Through the use of blockchains, we are able to interact in ways that were previously unfathomable – without the requirement for trust in a third party.
For investors, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin provide a viable alternative to traditional asset categories. However, many people have been hesitant about getting involved due to the volatility and other risks associated with buying bitcoin.
Significant price fluctuations have put bitcoin out of reach for many people, especially those who are averse to risk.
Methods of buying bitcoin in New Zealand and Australia
There are a couple of different strategies that are often used to build a cryptocurrency position – namely lump sum investing and dollar cost averaging.
Lump sum investing
The most common way of buying bitcoin is to set aside a fixed amount of capital and purchase it all at once. Many people prefer this method of investing, as you immediately know how much bitcoin you’re getting, and it is often viewed as a simple way of entering the market.
Many buyers choose to send their money to offshore exchanges where the price of bitcoin is more competitive. Due to the high cost of foreign transaction fees, it makes sense to transfer a larger chunk of money at once rather than breaking down your investment amount into multiple smaller transactions.
For lump sum purchases, timing is the most important factor to consider. It’s almost impossible to predict what the price of bitcoin will be tomorrow, so ‘lump sum investors’ tend to pay close attention to the trends and market signals in an effort to buy at the perfect time.
As you can probably imagine, this purchasing strategy often results in significant amounts of anxiety and poor decisions. Whilst it may seem like a smart approach at first glance, it is important to take the human element into consideration.
Dollar cost averaging
Some of the world’s most successful investors adopt a different approach to acquiring assets. Rather than putting all their eggs in one basket and trying to time the market, they divide the total investment amount into smaller quantities and purchase on a more regular basis. This is known as dollar cost averaging.
“By buying a fixed dollar amount on a regular schedule, your focus is on accumulating assets on a regular basis, instead of trying to time the market.” Source: Nasdaq
The benefits of dollar cost averaging are numerous:
- When the price is low, your fixed dollar amount buys more units; when the price is high, you purchase fewer units.
- Dollar cost averaging reduces the emotional burden of trying to time the market.
- Allows investors to build a diversified portfolio over time in a very rational manner, whilst maintaining cash reserves for unexpected circumstances.
- For people with a regular and predictable income, dollar cost averaging is a good way to stash money away before spending it.
In a volatile and uncertain market where large price swings can have a significant effect on the investment landscape, dollar cost averaging is a great way to comfortably grow your crypto assets.
Enter Cryptosaver
To help New Zealanders get the best deal when buying bitcoin and capitalize on this fast-paced market, Denym Bird, Jack Daffron and James Viggiano created Cryptosaver as a way for people to buy cryptocurrency safely and securely.
“Our mission is to make Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency a part of everybody’s investment portfolios.” Source
Founded in 2017, Cryptosaver is a digital asset brokerage that allows people to buy bitcoin at market rates without the traditional hassles that purchasing from an exchange typically entails. By focusing on dollar cost averaging, they help clients to buy bitcoin on autopilot and build a position over time.
When the three founders started Cryptosaver, they knew that it would be hard to gain banking acceptance. However, they didn’t quite anticipate just how difficult it would be to gain support from banks.
Innovation moves offshore due to resistance by New Zealand banks
Despite being AML/KYC compliant and registered as an official financial services provider, the answer from New Zealand banks was a resounding NO. Unfortunately, regulatory approval, robust processes and doing everything by the books wasn’t enough to garner support from any bank in New Zealand.
Rather than calling it a day, they decided to jump across the ditch and build Cryptosaver in Australia instead. Thanks to the new AUSTRAC rules which specifically regulate digital currencies, banks were much more supportive of innovative startups and were more willing to play a part in the future of banking.
The ‘number 8 wire’ attitude
Here in New Zealand, we tend to adopt a can-do attitude towards most endeavors. This outlook on life has served us well for many generations, and continues to feed the entrepreneurial spirit of Kiwis in all areas of business.
In many ways, New Zealand is the perfect testing ground for new tech innovations:
- We have a relatively modern technological infrastructure.
- Our society is comprised of a diverse mix of people from different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs. In many ways, New Zealand is a well-represented cross-section of the global community.
- We are a small country with less than 5 million inhabitants – large enough for thorough testing of new technologies, but not so large that it’s prohibitively difficult to change regulations.
- As a society, New Zealanders are quite open to trying new things.
The Blockchain Association of New Zealand was established to support and help grow the blockchain and crypto community in New Zealand. Through advocacy and regulatory support, there is great potential for our country to become a global hub for blockchain innovation.
Moving towards a brighter future
If the last few years are anything to go by, our industry has exciting times to come. Imagine living in a world where anyone could interact, transact and share resources freely.
As blockchains begin to play a larger role in our everyday lives, innovators and financial service providers will naturally gravitate towards countries and economies that offer a supportive banking and regulatory environment.
To learn more about Cryptosaver and how to buy bitcoin in Australia, check out www.cryptosaver.io.
