Explore our half day conference programme filled with keynote presentations, engaging panel discussions, and plenty of networking opportunities in the company of policy makers and changemakers who are shaping the future of digital safety in Aotearoa and around the world.
The agenda is currently being finalised. Please check back regularly for updates to speakers and session topics.
Morning Pulse: Unfiltered takes on the state of the industry – over breakfast
Forget the formal warm-up. Crypto Winter kicks off the way the best conversations do – over coffee and delicious food, with no slides in sight. Trevor will move through the room, mic in hand, checking in with a handful of key voices to get a pulse on what’s happening across the industry right now. Expect candid takes, a few surprises, and the kind of honest conversation you’d only get in a room like this.
Mihi Whakatau
Trevor Topfer – Executive Director | BlockchainNZ
From Opportunity to Action
Sets the tone for the year, moving from identifying opportunities (the 2025 theme) to taking them (the 2026 focus). This session looks at the progress made since last year’s conference, across policy, regulation, and industry momentum. Framed around “New Zealand takes the lead”, Trevor will provide an update on the policy work underway and how New Zealand is positioning itself ahead of global peers.
The Bigger Picture: Where the global digital asset economy stands – and what it means for New Zealand
The conversations happening in New Zealand are just a fraction of what’s unfolding across the rest of the world. This session sets the scene – covering where the global digital asset and blockchain economy actually stands right now, what the major jurisdictions are doing, and what all of it means for New Zealand. If we’re going to move the needle locally, we need to understand the scale of what’s already in motion globally.
Where Things Stand: An update on New Zealand’s blockchain policy and regulatory landscape
A year on, whats changed on the Digital Asset Policy front in Aotearoa following CryptoWinter25? This panel takes stock of the shifts in our policy and regulatory landscape since last year – what’s progressed, what’s stalled, and how developments globally are starting to shape the direction ahead. With frameworks evolving rapidly in other jurisdictions, the pressure on New Zealand to move with intent has never been greater.
Panel members: Alan Crofts, Jeremy Muir
Details to be confirmed
Details to be confirmed
Beyond Crypto: Exploring the Wider Use Cases of Blockchain Technology
This session moves the conversation beyond digital assets as the primary blockchain use case, exploring where blockchain is delivering real value outside of crypto markets. It examines emerging and overlooked applications, revisits so-called “ghost” use cases, and asks whether areas like NFTs are genuinely finished or simply evolving into more practical forms.
Panel members: Nathalie Whittaker | Toha and more to be announced
Speaker: Ignacio Aguirre Franco
When Crypto Meets the Tax System, CARF: A New Era of Crypto-Asset Reporting
This session unpacks the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and its implications for the New Zealand market. It focuses on the regulatory and operational impact for platforms, founders, investors and consumers, and what organisations need to be preparing for as reporting and compliance requirements come into force.
We’re Not Even in the Game: Stablecoin adoption in APAC and what it means for New Zealand
The next stablecoin panel to open with a quick keynote from Rachael Jones, AUDD, framing the session around stablecoin adoption across APAC vs globally, making the point that the market is massive and New Zealand is barely participating
Rachael Jones – AUDD
Can We Keep the NZ Dollar Alive? The rise of stablecoins
This session explores the implications of a New Zealand dollar-backed stablecoin and what it could mean for everyday Kiwis. It examines how stablecoins fit into the evolving global financial system, potential use cases for payments and settlement, and the policy, regulatory, and trust considerations that would shape adoption in New Zealand.
Agentic AI meets blockchain – the future of commerce
AI agents are moving from concept to commerce faster than most people anticipated — and the blockchain is increasingly the infrastructure underneath it all. But as autonomous systems start making real financial decisions, trust becomes the central question. How do we make sure we don’t tell our agent to buy Bitcoin and wake up owning a house in China? — how do we build systems that act with intention, stay within boundaries, and don’t go rogue? This session moves the conversation from theory into practice, exploring what autonomous trading on the blockchain actually looks like today and what needs to be true for it to work at scale.
New Zealands Hidden Blockchain Community
This session brings together “hidden” projects currently building in the blockchain space. It focuses on the work happening behind the scenes, the problems these teams are solving, and why some of the most meaningful development in the ecosystem is taking place away from public attention.
Session details to be confirmed
Digital Assets for All Kiwis: “This Is Financial Advice”
This session is designed for financial advisers and financial services providers, exploring the role of digital assets within regulated advice frameworks in New Zealand. It examines what it means to responsibly present digital assets to clients, including suitability, risk disclosure, compliance obligations, and how advisers can engage with digital assets as part of broader portfolio conversations.
Panellists: Alan Crofts | FMA and more to be announced
Session details to be confirmed
New Zealand’s Blockchain Strategy: How Clever Policy can unlock billions for NZ
This session focuses on how New Zealand can position itself as an exporter of blockchain technology, capability, and expertise. Bringing together perspectives from those in exports, policymakers, and international stakeholders, the discussion explores what New Zealand does well, how it is viewed globally, and the practical steps needed to turn blockchain innovation into a credible export opportunity for Aotearoa.
Panellists: Sarah Davidson | FMA, Jeremy Muir | MinterEllisonRuddWatts and more to be announced
Session details to be confirmed
Session details to be confirmed
Building from New Zealand: The Brutally Honest Conversation
This session offers an open and honest look at why it remains challenging to build and scale companies in New Zealand, spanning regulation, access to capital, and talent constraints. Drawing on real-world stories and experiences from VCs and founders.
Panel members: Chas Garunaratnee | Kotuku Consulting, and more to be announced
Session details to be announced
Session details to be announced
Session details to be confirmed