Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has registered with New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and opened local offices in the country. In a Sept. 29 tweet, Binance said it was registered as a financial service provider in New Zealand, allowing residents access to services including spot trading, nonfungible tokens, and staking. The move to the crypto-friendly Pacific nation followed regulators in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, Italy giving the green light for Binance to open an offshoot. “New Zealand is an exciting market with a strong history of fintech innovation,” said Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. New Zealand! We are kiwis. …

Crypto exchange Huobi Global announced the suspension of derivatives trading in New Zealand. The statement from Huobi said the new restrictions against derivative offers are in light of compliance with local regulations. Users in New Zealand will no longer have access to derivative trading services, which include coin-margined futures and swaps, USDT-margined contracts, options, and Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). The new restrictions will take effect on Aug. 23, 2022. On the same day, Huobi Global will no longer accept users with New Zealand KYC, along with IP addresses from the area. Users wishing to close out active positions can only …

Major cryptocurrency trading platform Huobi continues expanding its global presence by securing new licenses in New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. On Friday, Huobi Group obtained the Innovation License under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), securing the company’s first-ever license there. The DIFC license is not a trading license but rather authorizes Huobi to incentivize technology startups to set up operations in Dubai, Huobi Group chief financial officer Lily Zhang told Cointelegraph on Monday. The license unlocks a number of benefits like access to the local tech ecosystem and preferential treatment for technology research and developments, capital flows …

New Zealand-based crypto exchange Easy Crypto has raised $11.75 million (17 million New Zealand dollars) in Series A funding, as the firm eyes a potential initial public offering (IPO) in the future. The round was led by venture capital fund Nuance Connected Capital. According to a Wednesday announcement from Easy Crypto, the 17 million NZD figure “seemed to have set a new record in New Zealand” for the largest Series A funding from a local firm. The funding round marks a significant milestone for the firm. Easy Crypto co-founder and CEO Janine Grainger has expressed how difficult it had been …

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published an issue paper providing its perspective on central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The paper outlines CBDC purposes, designs, as well as the potential benefits and associated risks. The bank will be seeking comments on the proposed paper until Dec. 6. The document focuses on a “general-purpose” CBDC that is a digital currency issued to “any individual or business that wants to use it.” “Such a ‘general-purpose’ CBDC would be closer in function to cash and better placed to fulfil the role of central bank money than a ‘wholesale’ CBDC,” RBNZ wrote. The …

Australian crypto influencer Alex Saunders is being sued by a disgruntled follower of his YouTube channel and advice service Nuggets News. The plaintiff, New Zealand-based Ziv Himmelfarb, filed a formal written order on Wednesday in the Victorian Supreme Court demanding that Saunders repay 479,270 Australian dollars ($353,027) in losses and damages for unpaid loans and investments that are yet to materialize. Speaking to the Australian Financial Review on Thursday, Himmelfarb said that he had followed Saunders’ crypto commentary since 2017, stating, “He made some great calls and to me he was the No. 1 person to follow in the crypto …

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand says a central bank digital currency might be a “solution” to the ongoing reduction in the use of cash and that it will look more closely at the use of cryptocurrencies. The bank will open up public consultations regarding a CBDC and the emergence of new digital forms of money including stablecoins. We'll be consulting extensively over the remainder of 2021 on issues key to the future of how New Zealanders pay and save, driven by our new stewardship mandate for cash and a broader currency system https://t.co/vniv2aULCZ #rbnz pic.twitter.com/OHdsuIhpGd — Reserve Bank of …

A former employee of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia has pleaded guilty to the theft of roughly $172,000 in cryptocurrency he obtained by making a copy of users’ private keys. According to a Monday report from New Zealand news outlet Stuff, the unnamed Cryptopia employee pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court to the theft of more than $1,000 and theft “by a person in a special relationship” — referring to cases when a person takes funds held in trust from someone else. The court convicted the employee, and he will be sentenced on Oct. 20. The worker had reportedly raised …

Auckland-based financial service provider Techemynt announced the launch of a stablecoin reportedly backed by the New Zealand dollar. In a statement from Techemynt today, the firm announced it had launched a cryptocurrency backed 1:1 by the New Zealand dollar and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain by Blockchain Labs. Techemynt is a registered financial service provider with the country’s major financial watchdog, the Financial Markets Authority. The firm said it would be offering the $NZD stablecoin directly to any customers who want to purchase more than $100,000 NZD worth — roughly $70,000 USD. Crypto users can also find the token on …

New Zealand-based financial services company Power Finance plans to launch what it’s calling a “world-first” digital version of the New Zealand dollar. Set to launch early next year, the digital currency will employ distributed ledger technology. The “Power Dollar” is not government-backed, however, and is more akin to a stablecoin such as Tether than a true digital dollar. It is being set up privately and will be backed one-for-one by New Zealand dollars held by Inland Revenue through its tax pooling system. The company is led by former PwC banking and capital markets partner Dave Corbett, and is backed by …

Ebang, a major Chinese Bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment supplier, is planning to acquire a financial firm in New Zealand to set up a local digital asset financial service platform. According to an official announcement on Oct. 14, Ebang International Holdings has entered an Expression of Interest tender letter to acquire a 100% share of an unnamed company. The New Zealand-based firm offers wholesale and generic financial brokerage and wealth management services, the announcement notes. Ebang representatives emphasized that the potential deal is subject to the “negotiation of a definitive agreement among the relevant parties” while the acquisition is not yet …

New Zealand businesses must now submit information on their clients' digit asset usage to the country's tax regulator, the Inland Revenue Department, or IRD. The governing body said it wants to get a better grasp on the crypto scene in the country and determine an applicable tax framework for the asset class, according to a statement reported by Radio New Zealand, or RNZ. In addition to specifics around crypto usage, the IRD will also request associated client information, RNZ wrote. The IRD is not the only government body dialing in on digital asset taxation. The IRS, the U.S.' tax authority, …