{
 "jurisdiction_id": "NZ",
 "jurisdiction": "New Zealand",
 "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/",
 "generator": "render_jid v13.3.0",
 "date_modified": "2026-08-17",
 "schema_version": "crypto-v2.0.0",
 "counts": {
  "modules": 8,
  "sourced_findings": 12,
  "source_register": 28
 },
 "modules": [
  {
   "code": "crypto_licensing",
   "name": "Crypto Licensing",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#crypto-licensing-crypto-licensing",
   "standing_position": "New Zealand has no dedicated crypto-licensing statute; coverage is assembled from AML/CFT Act 2009 registration duties applicable to crypto-asset/VASP businesses (as 'financial institutions', sourced to the FATF/APG 2021 mutual evaluation, T2) and FMC Act 2013 market-conduct licensing for tokens classified as financial products (sourced to 2017 FMA guidance via CoinDesk, T3). Cabinet abandoned a previously reported blanket crypto-ATM ban in July 2026, replacing it with a proposed regulation-making power for targeted controls under the AML/CFT (Omnibus) Amendment Bill (T1, Beehive.govt.nz), correcting a stale baseline claim.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "the applicable AML/CFT supervisor (DIA, FMA, or RBNZ) under the AML/CFT Act 2009 as 'financial institutions'",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "New Zealand crypto-asset/VASP businesses",
     "source_url": "https://www.fatf-gafi.org/content/dam/fatf-gafi/mer/Mutual-Evaluation-Report-New-Zealand-2021.pdf",
     "source_tier": "2",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    },
    {
     "finding": "crypto-asset tokens classified as financial products (debt security, equity security, managed investment product, or derivative) under the FMC Act 2013",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FMA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2017/11/01/new-zealand-regulator-cryptocurrencies-are-securities/",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    },
    {
     "finding": "Following a July 2026 Cabinet decision, New Zealand will not proceed with a blanket ban on crypto ATMs; the AML/CFT (Omnibus) Amendment Bill will instead include a regulation-making power for targeted controls (e.g. cash-transaction thresholds), superseding the earlier blanket-ban proposal.",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "New Zealand Cabinet",
     "source_url": "https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/crypto-atms-get-guardrails-not-guillotine",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "token_classification",
   "name": "Token Classification",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#token-classification-token-classification",
   "standing_position": "FMA's 2017 guidance treats all tokens as securities under the FMC Act 2013, sub-categorised by economic substance into debt securities, equity securities, managed investment products, or derivatives; tokens falling short of the narrower 'financial product' threshold appear to receive lighter-touch treatment outside FMA's product-specific licensing regime, though this is an inference rather than a confirmed statutory carve-out. Currency of the 2017 position was not reconfirmed this cycle.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "all tokens/cryptocurrencies as 'securities' under the FMC Act 2013, further categorised into debt securities, equity securities, managed investment products, or derivatives based on economic substance",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FMA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2017/11/01/new-zealand-regulator-cryptocurrencies-are-securities/",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    },
    {
     "finding": "FMA's product-specific licensing regime under the FMC Act, creating lighter-touch treatment for tokens deemed 'securities' but not 'financial products'",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "Non-financial-product utility tokens",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2017/11/01/new-zealand-regulator-cryptocurrencies-are-securities/",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "on_chain_activity_regime",
   "name": "On-Chain Activity Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#on-chain-activity-regime-on-chain-activity-regime",
   "standing_position": "No dedicated regime exists for staking, DeFi lending, mining, or validator/node operation; such activity is assessed case-by-case under general securities and tax law. This is a genuine regulatory gap, evidenced only by general 2017 FMA framing rather than dedicated sourcing.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "staking, DeFi lending, mining, or validator/node operation; such activities are assessed under general securities and tax law on a case-by-case basis",
     "instrument_type": "jurisdiction",
     "source": "New Zealand",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2017/11/01/new-zealand-regulator-cryptocurrencies-are-securities/",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "stablecoin_regime",
   "name": "Stablecoin Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#stablecoin-regime-stablecoin-regime",
   "standing_position": "No statute authorises privately-issued stablecoins, with no reserve or redemption requirements in place; RBNZ's 'digital cash' consultation addresses a prospective CBDC only, not private stablecoin issuance, and remains pre-legislative.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "privately-issued stablecoins (no reserve or redemption requirements); RBNZ's 'digital cash' consultation addresses a prospective CBDC, not private stablecoin issuance",
     "instrument_type": "jurisdiction",
     "source": "New Zealand",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/tag/new-zealand",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "consumer_protection",
   "name": "Consumer Protection",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#consumer-protection-consumer-protection",
   "standing_position": "FMA maintains public risk warnings characterising crypto as unregulated, high-risk, and volatile; statutory consumer protections under the FMC Act 2013 apply only where a token meets the 'financial product' threshold, leaving general crypto activity covered only by risk disclosure rather than binding protection.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "cryptocurrencies are not regulated in New Zealand as a general asset class and are high-risk and highly volatile; investors should be prepared to lose all their money",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "FMA",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/01/12/new-zealands-financial-watchdog-warns-on-crypto-investment-risks/",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "tax_treatment",
   "name": "Tax Treatment",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#tax-treatment-tax-treatment",
   "standing_position": "IRD permits crypto salary payment under Income Tax Act 2007 s RD 3 (confidence downgraded this cycle pending primary IRD ruling verification); standard GST rules currently apply to crypto as property (15% GST alongside income tax), with a proposed but unenacted IRD exclusion pending; the CARF collection duty on Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers became operative 1 April 2026, corrected this cycle from an enacted-not-yet-effective mischaracterisation, with first IRD report due 30 June 2027.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "crypto-assets under section RD 3 of the Income Tax Act 2007, provided the asset is exchangeable for fiat and paid as a fixed, regular part of remuneration",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "IRD",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2019/08/12/new-zealand-tax-office-makes-it-legal-to-pay-salaries-in-crypto",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    },
    {
     "finding": "crypto-assets as property, exposing business transfers to 15% GST liability alongside income tax (double-taxation risk); IRD has proposed excluding most crypto-assets from GST and financial-arrangement rules, but this reform is not confirmed as enacted",
     "instrument_type": "regulator",
     "source": "IRD",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2020/02/25/new-zealand-plans-to-drop-unfavorable-sales-tax-treatment-of-cryptocurrencies",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    },
    {
     "finding": "the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) from 1 April 2026, with the first report due to Inland Revenue by 30 June 2027 and myIR registration opening March 2027",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "New Zealand-based Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers",
     "source_url": "https://www.ird.govt.nz/updates/news-folder/2026/new-reporting-rules-for-crypto-asset-service-providers",
     "source_tier": "1",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-01-20"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "cross_border_transfer",
   "name": "Cross-Border Transfer",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#cross-border-transfer-cross-border-transfer",
   "standing_position": "A proposed NZD 5,000 cap on international cash transfers targets cash-to-crypto conversion ahead of offshore movement via the AML/CFT Amendment Bill package; enactment status unconfirmed following the July 2026 crypto-ATM ban reversal.",
   "findings": [
    {
     "finding": "an NZD 5,000 (~USD 3,000) cap on international cash transfers, explicitly targeting conversion of cash into high-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies before offshore movement, via the AML/CFT Amendment Bill package",
     "instrument_type": "none",
     "source": "New Zealand Government",
     "source_url": "https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/07/09/new-zealand-wants-to-ban-crypto-atms-in-anti-money-laundering-overhaul",
     "source_tier": "3",
     "retrieved_at": "2026-08-04"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "code": "aml_cft_regime",
   "name": "AML/CFT Regime",
   "confidence": null,
   "moved_this_cycle": false,
   "url": "https://cryptoassets.gi/jurisdictions/new-zealand/#aml-cft-regime-aml-cft-regime",
   "standing_position": "This module is intentionally left claim-empty per the fleet-canonical AML/CFT consolidation into financial-integrity; DIA, FMA, and RBNZ jointly supervise AML/CFT compliance under the AML/CFT Act 2009 for New Zealand crypto businesses. The crypto-ATM component of the related reform package was abandoned in July 2026 (see crypto_licensing).",
   "findings": []
  }
 ]
}