Flow founder Eli Hylands talks building a Kiwi crypto exchange on The Crypto Conversation
On Brave New Coin’s podcast, Eli Hylands told host Andy Pickering why he built Flow Crypto, why the code was the easy part, and what surprised him about Flow’s first customers.
By Eli Hylands
· 2 min read
Flow Crypto founder Eli Hylands joined Andy Pickering on The Crypto Conversation, the podcast from Brave New Coin, for episode 713, “Flow Crypto – The New Exchange for Kiwis”. The episode was published on 14 October and was recorded about a month after Flow launched.
Across the conversation, Eli covers where Flow came from, how it works, what it took to get it running and who has signed up so far.
A gap in the market
Eli has been involved in crypto for about ten years. Before Flow, he worked as a software developer and business analyst at IAG.
The opening came when Swyftx bought Easy Crypto in 2025 and moved its New Zealand customers across. With the country’s best-known retail crypto service gone from the market, Eli saw room for a new New Zealand-owned option. He built Flow largely by himself over about a year, alongside his day job.
“The software was the easy part.”
How Flow works
Flow is a New Zealand on and off ramp. Customers send New Zealand dollars from their bank account and receive crypto directly in their own wallet. Selling works the other way: crypto goes in and New Zealand dollars come back to the customer’s bank account.
Flow is non-custodial, which means it doesn’t hold customers’ crypto for them. It charges a flat 0.79 percent fee, supports up to 50 assets, and is registered on the Financial Service Providers Register.
The hard part wasn’t the software
Eli told Andy that writing the software was the easy part. Getting a bank account for the business took about six months.
The hardest work was compliance. Flow has to meet its reporting obligations to the Department of Internal Affairs, and Eli describes the challenge as doing that properly without asking customers for so much information that signing up becomes a chore.
Who is using Flow
Eli also shared what he has learned about Flow’s early customers. They lean towards altcoins rather than Bitcoin, and they come from every age group, which he says surprised him.
Where to listen
You can listen to the full episode on the Brave New Coin website, or find The Crypto Conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. The episode was supported by Stabull Finance.
- Listen on Brave New Coin
- The Crypto Conversation on Spotify
- The Crypto Conversation on Apple Podcasts
- The Crypto Conversation on YouTube
This article is general information only and is not financial advice. Crypto-assets can be volatile, and blockchain transfers are generally irreversible.
Eli Hylands
Eli is the founder of Flow Crypto and editor of Flow News, covering crypto for New Zealanders.
