Celebrating excellence in Aotearoa’s blockchain and crypto ecosystem
Join us on Friday, 5 December 2025 to recognise the innovators, leaders and trailblazers shaping Aotearoa New Zealand’s blockchain and crypto landscape. The Blockchain Awards 2025 will bring our community together for an evening of celebration, connection and recognition at MinterEllisonRuddWatts in Auckland.
What the awards are:
The Blockchain Awards celebrate outstanding contributions across Aotearoa’s blockchain and crypto ecosystem—from corporates and institutions to SMEs, start-ups and individual leaders. Our goal is to spotlight the people and organisations driving real impact, adoption and innovation.
Voting is now closed. Results will be announced at the Awards.
Key milestones
- Nominations open: Monday, 13 October
- Nominations close: Thursday, 30 October
- Voting opens: Friday, 7 November
- Voting closes: Friday, 21 November
- Awards evening: Friday 5 December (More info coming soon!)
Award categories
- Corporate Leader Award*
This award honours a major or large corporate member that has demonstrated strong leadership and driven large-scale adoption of blockchain in New Zealand. It recognises organisations advancing the industry through significant investment, strategic initiatives, and long-term commitment.
- Institutional Impact Award*
This award recognises medium and small corporations, as well as institutional members, that have made a significant impact on blockchain innovation and adoption in New Zealand. It highlights organisations that bring blockchain into the mainstream through education, infrastructure, or applied solutions.
- SME Innovation Award*
This award showcases small and medium enterprises that are using blockchain in bold and creative ways. It shines a light on the agility of SMEs to deliver innovative products, services, or solutions.
- Start-up of the Year*
This award honours the most dynamic early-stage blockchain or Web3 company in New Zealand. It is designed for start-ups that are making waves with fresh ideas, rapid growth, or breakthrough innovation.
- BlockchainNZ Woman of the Year
This award recognises an exceptional woman whose leadership, innovation, or entrepreneurship is making a significant impact on New Zealand’s blockchain industry and community.
- BlockchainNZ Man of the Year
This award recognises an exceptional man whose leadership, innovation, or entrepreneurship is making a significant impact on New Zealand’s blockchain industry and community.
- Entrepreneur of the Year
This award highlights visionary founders and entrepreneurs who are building new ventures and driving adoption of blockchain. It celebrates ambition, innovation, and the ability to bring bold ideas to market.
- BlockchainNZ Icon of the Year (Main Award)*
The highest honour of the BlockchainNZ Awards. This award celebrates an individual or organisation whose leadership, influence, and achievements define excellence in the industry. It is open to nominees across all categories and represents the pinnacle of recognition.
* Only BlockchainNZ Member companies and their employees are eligible for these awards.
How to nominate
Prepare: Choose a category and gather nominee details plus a 200–300 word rationale.
Check Eligibility: Winners for some award categories must be current BlockchainNZ members. These categories are marked with an asterisk (*). If your nominee isn’t yet a member, they’ll need to activate membership to confirm eligibility. If you’re unsure, check this list here, and if you have any questions, please get in touch.
Submit: Complete the nomination form before nominations close on Thursday, 30 October.
Voting process
Once nominations are finalised, the top five finalists in each category will be entered into the voting process.
BlockchainNZ members will receive further instructions on the voting process via email once voting opens. Just like our EC election process, there will be one vote per member organisation. Please keep an eye on your inbox for more information.
We look forward to receiving your submissions.
