New Zealand is Not Exploring Crypto Regulation, but Recommends Increased Vigilance

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has said it won't suggest a regulatory attack towards stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, but would urge accrued vigilance, the cardinal slope announced connected Friday.

“Issues raised by crypto-assets and different innovations bash not autumn neatly wrong bureau boundaries," said Ian Woolford, Director of Money and Cash, RBNZ. "However, issues specified arsenic user and capitalist extortion oregon imaginable commercialized oregon regulatory barriers to introduction bash substance ...."

The land nation's cardinal slope came to the decision aft receiving 50 submissions from antithetic stakeholders arsenic portion of a consultative process that it started successful December 2022. It had sought submissions astir an Issues Paper connected Private Innovation that discussed the improvement of the crypto-asset market.

"The submissions reinforced our presumption that determination are important risks and opportunities, but besides important uncertainties astir however the assemblage volition make and wherever the optimal equilibrium volition lie," the announcement said. "We hold with the presumption that caution is needed. This is wherefore we are not proposing a regulatory effect astatine this point."

While the absorption of the process was connected the imaginable uses of crypto-assets arsenic money, the RBNZ indicated its latest presumption connected cardinal slope integer currency (CBDC).

"While we are exploring a imaginable CBDC, we person not made immoderate determination astir the request for one," the announcement said. "If we bash present a CBDC, this would not beryllium to displace currency which would stay available."

New Zealand has seen Binance register arsenic a fiscal work supplier but Huobi ended derivatives trading services to the nation.