Kia ora,
Last November, our Law and Regulations Working Group hosted a roundtable with Hon. Judith Collins to discuss the National Party’s upcoming digital strategy and how Web3 could be a critical path towards an economically prosperous Aotearoa. During this session we discussed the current regulatory frameworks, compliance laws and taxation issues within New Zealand and other jurisdictions; the web3 export opportunities to support the NZ economy; and how government can work alongside the BlockchainNZ community to assist with their digital strategy to enable innovation.
It’s great to see members of parliament consulting with our community and are aware of our challenges, potential, and the Web3 products and services currently being developed within New Zealand, especially in an election year.
We are currently working behind the scenes on our response to The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Future of Money – Private Innovation Issues Paper, which is currently open for feedback by the general public. The issues paper primarily concerns their objective to remain a steward of money, and covers themes surrounding the opportunities and risks posed by the private innovation of money as well regulatory responses from new money forms. We will be hosting a webinar on 28 March at 12pm to share our response. We hope you can attend to give your feedback which will be taken into consideration in our response. We encourage all our members to submit their own response. Submissions close 3 April, 2023.
Next week, myself and executive council member, Sorel Carr, will be speaking alongside Jerome Faury at the FinTech Hui Taumata for a fireside chat on the future of money. We will be doing a deep-dive into what new money forms are currently being explored, what has impacted this desire for change from both a macro social and economic perspective, as well as what regulatory frameworks should be considered. If you are attending the FinTech Hui Taumata, feel free to come over and have a chat, and if you are interested in attending, you can register here.
Next month, Blockchain APACs Managing Director, Steve Vallas, will be in Auckland to help further build our relationship with the wider APAC Blockchain ecosystem to see how we can support our growing industry and help our Web3 and blockchain companies scale up. We will be hosting a connect event where Steve and I will be giving an overview of the current blockchain and Web3 landscape in the APAC region, as well as opening up the night to answer our members’ questions. If you would like to attend, please register here, and if you were interested in asking a question but can’t attend, you still can! Fill out this form and we will be in touch.
It’s already been a busy start to the year, and no doubt this momentum will continue. If you would like to get involved in any of our activities, feel free to reach out to our team.
Ngā mihi nui,
Alison Mackie
BlockchainNZ Executive Director
Read more: The potential of Web3 + the future of money
