What is a stablecoin? A crypto token designed to stay near $1 USD. Used for trading and moving money on exchanges. Not a bank account. Not protected like an NZ deposit.
What is Bitcoin?
A digital asset with a fixed supply cap. It can rise a lot — and fall a lot. Over five years it has made people wealthy and wiped out others. It is not a place for house-deposit money.
Where do stablecoins go wrong?
Issuers can fail. Pegs can break — it has happened overseas. Platforms holding your coins can collapse. None of this is science fiction. It is on the news every few years.
How should a Kiwi saver think about both?
- Never use either for emergency cash.
- Only risk money you could lose entirely.
- Keep records for IRD from day one.
Why does the label matter?
Because “crypto” covers two opposite ideas: stability and wild speculation. Pick the tool that matches the job — or skip both until you understand the risks in plain language.
