QUEENSTOWN - A government minister, officials from three agencies and one of New Zealand's largest banks will all take the stage at a blockchain conference in Queenstown next week.
CryptoWinter26 runs 25 to 27 August at QT Queenstown, organized by Blockchain Forum New Zealand and Tech New Zealand, with around 40 speakers. The event opens on the evening of the 25th, and the main programme runs on 26th and 27th August.
ACT deputy leader and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee, who oversees New Zealand's anti-money laundering regime, is scheduled to speak on "the evolving role of crypto in New Zealand's financial system."
The session description says questions remain about whether current settings are fit for purpose in a swiftly evolving global market.
She is the only member of Parliament currently listed on the programme
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Department of Internal Affairs, and the Financial Markets Authority share a panel titled "Beyond 2026: What is New Zealand's Unfair Advantage?"
On stage will be MBIE senior policy advisor Pawel Borowski, Financial Markets Authority Head of Legal Alexandra McNair, and Department of Internal Affairs AML/CFT principal advisor Rocky Yuen.
MinterEllisonRuddWatts partner Jeremy Muir joins them, with Blockchain Forum NZ executive director Trevor Topfer moderating.
Kiwibank general manager specialist markets Mark Paice appears on a separate debate, "The Future of Banking: Where Traditional Finance Meets the Blockchain," alongside Swyftx, Immersve, Pay It Now and Cuscal Paymark.
Topfer told Cryptocurrency NZ that banking access remains the sector's central problem.
"The biggest barrier for market participants building on blockchain in New Zealand is still access to banking," Topfer said.
"Without banking services, you can't run a business."
"We are working with government to fix this."
He said the event would bring "government, policymakers and industry together to discuss this along with showcasing the progress we have made in the past year and looking at the coming 12 months."
An announcement, unnamed
The programme lists a "Major Industry Announcement" with no further detail.
The entry reads: "Be there on the day to find out what it is!"
"We will announce a project that promises to deliver concrete infrastructure and support the growth of the entire sector."
What else is on
A fireside chat will examine the collapses of Dasset and Cryptopia, with Lane Neave partner James Cochrane and Grant Thornton director Tom Aspin. Both companies featured in the FMA's recent custody discussion paper.
Other sessions address the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and its impacts for New Zealand platforms and investors, stablecoins and the New Zealand dollar, digital assets in regulated financial advice, and agentic AI in payments.
International speakers include Global Blockchain Business Council chief executive Sandra Ro, Blockchain APAC chief executive Steve Vallas, and Digital Economy Council of Australia chief executive Amy-Rose Goodey.
Mastercard, Stripe, Visa and Binance are also on the programme.
The second day of the event features fifteen rotating roundtables, each limited to ten seats, covering stablecoins, tokenized property, custody, open banking, digital asset taxation, quantum computing, cross-Tasman AML regulation, and blockchain provenance for New Zealand exports. Attendees select four.
Blockchain Forum NZ published a Digital Assets Framework in July, a principles-based roadmap for regulatory change built on the international principle of "same activity, same risk, same regulation."
The organization's chair, MinterEllisonRuddWatts partner Jeremy Muir, led the work.
The organization also lodged a collective industry submission on MBIE's payment services consultation and responded to the FMA's custody discussion paper.
The policy summit media cannot attend
A separate Blockchain Forum NZ Policy Summit runs in Queenstown on 28 August. It is by invitation only, operates under the Chatham House Rule, and media will not be present.
Topfer described the summit in Blockchain Forum NZ's newsletter as a response to conversations happening in isolation.
"Government agencies are progressing policy, regulators are considering how existing frameworks apply, businesses are building, and legal, academic and political leaders are examining what the sector means for New Zealand's future. Too often, however, these conversations happen in isolation."
The summit is intended to "build shared understanding, strengthen relationships and identify a more coordinated path forward."
A separate Bitcoin-only conference, the Sovereignty Summit, is planned for Queenstown in 2027.
Cryptocurrency NZ will be reporting from Queenstown across both days of the conference.