Kiwi-Coin Bitcoin Exchange Review

Kiwi-Coin is a New Zealand-based Bitcoin exchange where you can buy BTC with New Zealand dollars.

Updated 7 August 2023

Kiwi-Coin, as the name might suggest, is a cryptocurrency exchange catering to the New Zealand market. The exchange only offers one market for exchanging BTC and NZD. This review explores the features, fees, advantages and disadvantages of using Kiwi-Coin.

Kiwi-Coin summary

Kiwi-Coin is based in New Zealand, registered on the New Zealand FSPR and a member of a Dispute Resolution Scheme.
The exchange only supports Bitcoin and New Zealand dollar trading.
Instant deposits are supported using POLi.
New Zealand dollars and Bitcoin can be loaded on a trading account, allowing advanced pending orders to be used.
Kiwi-Coin uses RealMe identity verification for quick and easy onboarding.
API trading is supported for read-only and trading functionality

To explain Kiwi-Coin in detail, our guide covers:

Warning:

By publishing this guide, we are not recommending or suggesting in any way or form that Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is a suitable investment.
We published and update this guide to help people understand the Kiwi-Coin platform - MoneyHub is conservative, and our publisher, Christopher Walsh, has zero Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency investments.
We present this information in good faith and remain objective at all times. By including this guide under our Investing and Saving section, we are not advocating that cryptocurrency is an investment. We may earn a referral bonus for anyone that clicks on some of the below links - see our Advertising Policy for more details.

Introduction to Kiwi-Coin

Kiwi-Coin was founded in 2014 and claims to be the longest surviving cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand. The company operates a BTC/NZD market for buying and selling Bitcoin for New Zealand dollars.

Kiwi-Coin issues a trading account to registered users, allowing you to deposit New Zealand dollars or Bitcoin to the account. The platform hosts an exchange where traders can place limit orders which populate an order book. When an exchange is completed, the transaction is settled on the accounts of both parties by deducting dollars and adding BTC for a buy order and vice versa for a sell order.

The Kiwi-Coin process differs from other well-known cryptocurrency trading platforms in New Zealand, e.g. Easy Crypto, which defines itself as a ‘retailer’ and acts as a brokers for other exchanges.

Kiwi-Coin Regulation
Kiwi-Coin Limited is registered in New Zealand and uses the trading name Kiwi-Coin. The company is classified as a stockbroking or trading company. Kiwi-Coin is registered with the Financial Service Providers Register with the number FSP523386. Kiwi-Coin is registered to operate a money or value transfer service and is a member of the Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme Inc. for dispute resolutions.

How to create a Kiwi-Coin account

Kiwi-Coin offers accounts with different verification levels. The objective is to reach level 2 verification to begin using services.

Level 0 - Anonymous: Your email address is verified, you set your password, and your secret access code is issued. At this level, simply a profile has been created, and all you can do is deposit and withdraw Bitcoin.

Level 1 - Unverified: You consent to all the legal documents and complete a couple of forms to provide some identity information, your address and questions about your source of funds and the purpose of using the service. This level does not offer any additional services or increase any limits.

Level 1.5 - ID Verified: You verify your identity via the RealMe service or by using one of the accepted physical formats. Kiwi-Coin does not offer digital identity verification of documents. This level unlocks trading and NZD deposits and withdrawals.

Level 2 - Verified: You provide proof of your address. Once the documents are approved, your limits are increased significantly.

Level 3 - Trusted: Having a Trusted account lets you increase your withdrawal limits even further; it lets you transfer the equivalent of NZ$100,000 per day and up to NZ$1,000,000 per month. For this, you’ll need to provide a hard copy document to show your source of funds and enable Google Authenticator to protect your account.

Kiwi-Coin is only available to New Zealand residents who have a New Zealand Bank Account. Before you can deposit or withdraw, you need to verify your bank account.

The best way to verify your identity for Kiwi-Coin is to use the RealMe service to verify your identity and address without providing any documents directly to the company. This method helps keep your information safe, as it’s exchanged securely. If you do not have a RealMe account, the verification process requires physically mailing original documents, which is inconvenient and risky.

Buying and Selling on Kiwi-Coin:

Kiwi-Coin fees

Kiwi-Coin has two types of fees: Trading fees and transaction fees. For trading fees, the exchange uses a maker-taker model. Market-makers are charged 0.4% of the trade value, whereas market-takers are charged 0.8%.
Concerning the transaction fees, Kiwi-Coin does not apply any fees for deposits. There is a fixed $10 fee for New Zealand dollar withdrawals, and a network fee is applied to cover Bitcoin withdrawals.

Account funding

You can deposit and withdraw Bitcoin from an external wallet to and from Kiwi-Coin, and you can deposit and withdraw New Zealand dollars using your New Zealand bank account or POLi.
Bank transfers take up to two business days, whereas transfers via POLi are instant.

Trading functionality

Kiwi-Coin offers a simple website with trading and account management functionality. The website shows the top 15 levels from the book, a depth chart and historical prices and trades from the exchange.

Order types

Simple orders: A simple order is essentially a market order. The platform will fill your desired order quantity by sweeping multiple orders from the order book and giving you a complete fill. The cost is based on the volume-weighted average price.
Advanced orders: An advanced order is essentially a stop or limit order. The platform lets you determine a specific price and quantity for your order.
Floating orders: This is a unique order type that lets you link your entry price to the worldwide average price of BTC plus or minus some deviation. The order price dynamically adjusts according to the worldwide average.

Charting and data

Price chart: Historical prices are shown on a candlestick chart. The chart does not offer any technical analysis tools and seems not optimised for financial markets and trading analysis.
Trades: The last trades stream shows the most recent market orders matched.
Volume: The volume indicator shows the Bitcoin volume traded in the selected period.
Order book: The order book shows 15 levels from the order book. The book shows the 15 highest bid prices and 15 lowest ask prices.
Depth chart: The depth chart visualises the entire order book and allows you to zoom in and out.

API trading

Kiwi-Coin offers API trading functionality. The API can be used for trading or limited to read-only for fetching account information. When creating an API key, you can configure an IP address filter for additional security. Keys can be created and revoked easily.
The API lets you create and cancel orders, get a list of trades, view account balance, see reserved and available funds, and see current market conditions.

Customer support

There are three ways to get support when using Kiwi-Coin. Firstly, you can submit support tickets on the website.
Secondly, you can initiate a private chat with a support representative.
Thirdly, if your question is not sensitive, you can ask other users in the public user chat.

Notifications

You can configure live trading notifications for specific events delivered via email, Telegram messenger application, SMS or web push notification.

Kiwi-Coin Advantages and Disadvantages - Pros and Cons

Pros:

Instant deposits. You can fund your Kiwi-Coin account instantly in NZD using POLi.
Simple to use. Because Kiwi-Coin issues an account that stores e-money (NZD) and virtual assets (BTC), you don’t need to make individual transfers every time you want to buy or sell.
Floating orders are unique and can be very useful for some trading strategies.
It has a detailed audit log. The platform keeps a detailed audit log of every event that happens in your account.

Cons:

Limited markets. The exchange only supports exchanging Bitcoins with New Zealand dollars and vice versa. No other cryptocurrencies are supported.
The spread is high. At the time of writing, the current BTC/NZD spread on Kiwi-Coin is 885.25.
Low volume. The exchange is not very active; only on rare occasions does the daily trading volume exceed 1 BTC, and most days experience a few dozen trades.
Low liquidity. At the time of writing, the order book consists of less than 1 BTC.
It does not provide digital verification unless you’re using the RealMe service.

Alternative ways to buy Bitcoin in New Zealand

Kiwi-Coin is not the only way to buy Bitcoin in New Zealand. Our how to buy Bitcoin in New Zealand guide explores different options, such as Easy Crypto, Swyftx and Binance. We list these below in detail to help build understanding.

If you want to know more about cryptocurrencies, which we absolutely insist you research thoroughly before investing, we suggest reading the following guides:

Easy Crypto

Payment methods: POLI instant pay, debit or credit card, or local NZ bank transfer
Fees: All fees are included in the spread, which is why the bid and offer prices might look higher than other platforms. The fees are around 0.70% to 0.90%.
Minimum order size: NZ$50
Settlement: Private wallet
Coins available: 109, including Bitcoin
Learn more: Easy Crypto

Binance

Payment methods: Debit/credit card via third-party payment provider Simplex
Fees: Card processing fees are 3.5% with a minimum fee of US$10. When withdrawing Bitcoin, for example to your private wallet, there is a withdrawal fee of 0.0005 BTC, approximately NZ$28
Minimum order size: The minimum order size is the equivalent of US$30, which is approximately NZ$46
Settlement: On an account
Coins available: With a bank card, you can buy 18 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. On the exchange, there is hundreds of coins are available to trade once you have an account funded with crypto
Learn more: Binance

LocalBitcoins

Payment methods: It depends on your agreement with the seller
Fees: A fee of 1% is charged to the party which listed the ad on the platform, other fees might be priced into the offer from the seller
Minimum order size: The seller sets the minimum order size
Settlement: Private wallet
Coins available: Bitcoin only
Learn More: LocalBitcoins

Kiwi-Coin - Frequently Asked Questions

Kiwi-Coin is user-friendly and transparent, but there are still some must-know facts to be aware of. We answer common questions below:

Is Kiwi-Coin regulated?

Kiwi-Coin is not regulated, licensed or authorised. However, the company is registered with the FSPR and a member of a Dispute Resolutions Scheme.

Can I use Kiwi-Coin as a wallet for receiving Bitcoin payments?

No. According to the Kiwi-Coin User Agreement, customers can only send Virtual Assets (i.e. Bitcoin) you already own. The terms state customers are not authorised to use Virtual Assets Transactions to request, receive or store Virtual Assets from third parties.

Do I need to create a Bitcoin wallet to use Kiwi-Coin?

Technically no; however, it depends on how you intend to use Kiwi-Coin. If you’re simply speculating on the price of Bitcoin and plan to sell Bitcoin eventually, you don’t need to create one. However, you should. The best practice is to take responsibility for your cryptocurrency and not leave it down to a third party that could be compromised.

If you’re planning to spend the Bitcoin you buy from Kiwi-Coin, you should transfer your purchased BTC to another wallet. The Kiwi-Coin terms and conditions prohibit third party transfers. Learn more about keeping your crypto assets secure by reading our Bitcoin wallets guide.

What is the difference between XBT and BTC?

XBT and BTC are just different ways to express Bitcoin as a ticker symbol. BTC is more common in the cryptocurrency community. However, XBT is often used in the mainstream financial markets, such as Bitcoin futures contracts traded on CME.

Is Kiwi-Coin a scam?

We’ve seen some posts on Reddit calling out Kiwi-Coin as being a scam, but those issues were ultimately resolved. The company’s online reputation suggests the company is not a scam.

Can I deposit other cryptocurrencies to Kiwi-Coin?

No - the only cryptocurrency Kiwi-Coin supports is Bitcoin. If you try to send any other cryptocurrency, you will almost certainly lose your funds. Do not do this.

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