Cryptocurrency License in New Zealand | Law&Trust International

Cryptocurrency License in New Zealand

The New Zealand digital platform is significantly developed due to the clear investment climate and the precise legal regulation expressed in licensing activities. Thus, the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) relates transactions with cloud assets to securities, which puts them under regulatory control of two legislative acts:

  • On Financial Markets,
  • On Financial Service Providers.

Any variations of cryptocurrency are equal to the types of securities, so a license for cryptocurrency in New Zealand is not required. In this case, it is necessary  formally to license the activity in accordance with which the the cryptocurrency market counterparties provide services to customers. The management, according to the official page, puts a heavy stress on the following: even if by some parameters a digital product cannot be identified by its features which are associated with securities, regulative measures are applied to such assets as valuable assets in any case. The license for cryptocurrency in New Zealand is identified with the license for the right to engage in operations with securities.

License

License for Exchange of Cryptocurrency in New Zealand

  • The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority, accompanying the licensing of the securities market, including cryptocurrencies, conducts to a significant extent policy of resolving disputes between agents and consumers. Since the license for the exchange of cryptocurrency in New Zealand, is absent as a separate document, due to the issuance of a single certificate licensing the multi-tasking activity of brokers, the FMA applies the following instruments:

    • Information instrument. The FMA publishes on its website data on any suspicious counterparties and frauds, available to a wide range of individuals,
    • The FMA conducts preliminary investigation in order to increase the possibility of a peaceful settlement of a dispute,
    • Recalls licenses of the cloud market counterparty.

    Any conversion of digital assets, stipulates the issuance of assets facilitating trade, and falls into the category of financial services: the issuance and management of payment means, and the storage services relate to the operation of value transfer services.

License for Operation with Cryptocurrency in New Zealand

  • The legislative acts provisions, on which the supervisory authority relies in its supervisory activities stipulate that the ICO is equal to the initial placement of valuable assets requiring appropriate licensing. The license to operate with cryptocurrency in New Zealand is absolutely standard. The main requirements for its receipt are the following:

    • Registration of a cryptocurrency exchange and the head office in New Zealand,
    • Compliance with the provisions of the FMC law,
    • Payment of fees and taxes for each category of financial services,
    • Ban on misrepresentation and other fraudulent actions, regardless of the type of investor and his location.

    In particular, actions to ban fraudulent actions include publishing on official pages in the Internet and social networks information containing reasonable predictions of the future value of cryptocurrency assets. Information should be based on reasonable assumptions and be a subject to possible verification.
    Commitment of New Zealand to comply with international obligations to combat money laundering extends its operation on the agreements on licensing cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand.
    Before issuing a counterparty license for financial products, the FMC verifies the following:

    • Nature of financial work,
    • Estimated market size,
    • Presumptive membership,
    • Technologies of internal control and regulation in operation.

Cryptocurrency License in New Zealand

  • The legislative acts, on which the supervisory department relies on in its own controlling activities, provide that the ICO is equivalent to the initial offering of valuable assets, and requires appropriate licensing. The license for working with cryptocurrency in New Zealand is absolutely standard. The main requirements for its receipt are:

    • Registration of a cryptocurrency exchange and head office in New Zealand;
    • Compliance with the provisions of the law on FMC;
    • Payment of fees and taxes for each category of financial services;
    • Prohibition of misrepresentation and other fraudulent actions, regardless of the type of investor and his location.

    In particular, the prohibition of fraudulent actions includes the refusal to post on official pages on the Internet and social network information containing unjustified forecasts of the future value of crypto assets. the information should be based on reasonable assumptions and be verifiable.

    New Zealand's involvement in compliance with international anti-money laundering obligations extends the agreements to the licensing of the cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand.

    Before issuing a financial product counterparty license, FMC checks the following:

    • The nature of financial work,
    • Estimated market size,
    • The likely membership,
    • Used technologies of internal control and regulation.
An important point is the need for the party affected from the actions of the authorized market for the valuable assets of New Zealand, which took place before April 1, 2014, to apply not to the FMC, but to the Trade Commission, which was the licensing regulator.
Obtaining a license to exchange cryptocurrency in New Zealand means acquiring the status of a full-fledged participant in the securities market. Given the high global reputation of New Zealand, obtaining a license increases the reputation of the company, as well as the likely significant interest of future customers.
uptocall_male.jpg

Our clients

Our team

Svetlana Artemenko
Legal Adviser
Vladyslava Volianyk
Junior Legal Counsel
Annie Lingerman
Senior Lawyer
Ekaterina Bogatova
Lawyer
Aleksander Shushin
Lawyer
Anastasia Alexeeva
Paralegal
Victoria Zhelezova
Branch Director, HR
Read more
Dariia Grib
Legal secretaries & Receptionists
Read more