9 Best NZ Crypto Exchanges
Posted: May 16th, 2020Updated: Dec 5th, 2021
This article lists the best cryptocurrency exchanges to buy Bitcoin in New Zealand. We have reviewed 100+ crypto exchanges and narrowed it down based on important user factors such as ease of use, deposit methods, trading fees, security and customer support.
Our Pick
Best exchange for
Overall
Swyftx
Visit SwyftxOverall
Swyftx Review
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Based on our reviews, these are the best cryptocurrency exchanges for NZ:
- Swyftx (best exchange overall)
- Binance (best for altcoins)
- Digital Surge (best for beginners)
- Gemini (best for wallet)
- Easy Crypto (best local exchange)
- Coinbase (best for debit card)
- Independent Reserve (best for NZD deposits)
- BitPrime (best for customer support)
- ZebPay (best for zero deposit fees)
This comparison guide provides an overview of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in New Zealand to buy, trade, store and sell Bitcoin and other altcoins.
| Exchange | Crypto Assets | Trading Fees | Rating | Promotion | Website | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Swyftx | 280+ | 0.6% | Overall | $20 Bitcoin for creating a verified account | Visit Swyftx | Swyftx Review |
 Binance | 300+ | 0.1% | Overall | 20% off trading fees | Visit Binance | Binance Review |
 Digital Surge | 270 | 0.5% | Overall | $10 Bitcoin for creating a verified account | Visit Digital Surge | Digital Surge Review |
 Gemini | 26+ | 0.5% | Overall | $10 BTC when buy/sell > $100 | Visit Gemini | Gemini Review |
  Easy Crypto | 44+ | 1% | Overall | None available at this time | Visit Easy Crypto | Easy Crypto Review |
 Coinbase NZ | 46 | 0.5% + 3.99% | Overall | None available at this time | Visit Coinbase NZ | Coinbase NZ Review |
 Independent Reserve | 26 | 0.5% | Overall | None available at this time | Visit Independen... | Independent Reserve Review |
  Zebpay | 7 | 0.4% | Overall | None available at this time | Visit Zebpay | Zebpay Review |
  BitPrime | 150+ | 2.9% | Overall | None available at this time | Visit BitPrime |
Swyftx is a popular Australian cryptocurrency exchange with over 350,000 users that has expanded to New Zealand that accepts NZD's on the platform. Residents can buy, sell and swap more than 280 digital currencies which can be bought and sold using a beginner-friendly, sleek and feature-rich platform that is optimized for desktop and mobile devices.
Visit SwyftxSwyftx NZ offers excellent features that will suit various types of investors such as rapid deposits and withdrawals, portfolio tracking, recurring orders, low trading fees, demo mode and price alerts. Overall, Swyftx is our best rated cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand to buy crypto with New Zealand Dollars (NZD) and deposits via local bank transfers.
Swyftx NZ is our best rated exchange overall due to the simple onboarding process of creating an account, completing ID verification depositing funds and purchasing cryptocurrencies. The exchange has been built to eliminate frustrations on other well-established New Zealand crypto exchanges and provide a visually appealing experience. Swyftx NZ also does not require new users to upload ID documentation or take selfies for a new account to be approved.
The exchange provides a highly responsive customer service with 11 support staff including a local team in NZ to assist via phone, email, live chat or Telegram. Swyftx has received a 4.7/5 star rating according to Trust Pilot reviews based on 2,300 user reviews and comments. 88% of customer feedback on the trading platform, mobile app and customer service has been rated as excellent. This is a good reflection of the customer service for its new and existing users.
The platform offers the most crypto assets in New Zealand and is packed with excellent features such as an easy to use a mobile app, tax calculator and dollar cost averaging tools. The desktop and mobile application has been designed for beginners and intermediate investors to get started with digital currencies. The trading experience is very simple on a fully customisable dashboard that can be tailored to suit each investor.
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange to buy, trade and sell more than 150+ digital assets. The popular trading platform has seen a meteoric rise since being founded in 2017 to become one of the most widely and highest trading volume exchanges in the world. The exchange supports NZ customers to buy, trade and sell cryptocurrencies using New Zealand Dollars.
Visit BinanceBinance is one of the cheapest crypto platforms to buy, sell and trade with lower fees between 0% and 0.1% compared to other exchanges. The cryptocurrency exchange offers a wide range of financial services and advanced features that include:
- Allows users to buy crypto using a wide range of currencies
- Supports multiple payment options such as bank deposit and credit/debit card
- Basic and advanced trading charting to suit users of varying skill
- Margin trading platform to trade crypto with leverage
- Derivatives and leverage tokens
- A secure Binance wallet to store cryptocurrency assets
- Binance offers a saving accounts to earn interest on crypto
- Crypto loans and Binance staking pools
- Binance VISA Card to covert and pay with crypto
Digital Surge is a Brisbane based digital currency exchange that has expanded to offers its digital currency services to residents within New Zealand. The crypto exchange has been specifically designed to suit beginners that are looking to get started with crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and DeFi tokens. Digital Surge NZ allows residents to deposit AUD funds using ANZ Bank via PayID and POLI payments.
Visit Digital SurgeDigital Surge is our best rated exchange for beginners due to its sleek, modern and elegant user interface. The exchange features a portfolio viewer to show the overall investment performance on desktop or mobile devices. Customers can monitor their favourite coins within a personal Watchlist to quickly see which coins are performing the best (and worst) with the Top Gainers list. An easy click through on any of them will transfer to a full detail page of each asset.
Gemini is a New York-based firm and regulated cryptocurrency exchange that was founded by the Winklevoss twins. The company provides a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange that accepts investors from New Zealand using NZD.
Visit GeminiThe website is the best crypto exchange for safety in in our opinion. Gemini provides a secure place for individuals, traders and institutions to buy, sell, and store digital currencies and also earn interest. Notable features include an advanced trading platform, custody service, secure wallet, mobile trading app and off-exchange crypto trades.
Easy Crypto is wholly New Zealand owned and operated crypto exchange in New Zealand that provides an online service for Kiwis to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Easy Crypto provides a quick and easy way to convert NZD to Bitcoin using a bank transfer or POLi. The exchange has been designed for beginners to get involved with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and many others. The user interface is well-designed, elegant and easy to use.
Visit Easy CryptoThe benefit of using Easy Crypto NZ is the non-custodial nature of the platform. This means purchased Bitcoins are sent directly to a hardware wallet such a Ledger Nano X. This eliminates the potential for crypto exchange hackers as funds are not stored by the platform.
Coinbase is the most popular Bitcoin exchange in the world that is available in New Zealand for local residents to buy, trade and sell cryptocurrency using a bank transfer, credit or debit card. Coinbase offers a secure wallet to store your newly purchased cryptocurrencies so you can buy and sell popular digital currencies and keep track of them all in the one place.
Visit CoinbaseUnlike other cryptocurrency trading platforms, Coinbase has been designed for beginners and introduce them to digital coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The sign-up, verification and link to payment process takes only a few minutes to complete. Customers can then use a highly intuitive and elegant user-interface on the online and mobile trading app to purchase cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase supports 46 digital coins on its platform to buy, trade and sell. In comparison to other top platforms such as eToro, the number of available assets is double. Users on the Coinbase platform can trade well-known coins such as BTC, ETH, ATOM, XRP, LTC, BCH, DAI, EOS, LINK, XLM and many others.
A great feature with Coinbase is the learning section to educate on blockchain projects offered by the platform such as BAND, MKR, COMP, XLM, ALGO, XTZ, DAI and others. Customers that complete the short quiz at the end of each module receive free crypto.
Coinbase is also one of the safest cryptocurrency exchanges with no reported hacks or compromises of the security systems and wallets resulting in any loss of funds due to criminal activity.
Independent Reserve is a popular exchange among cryptocurrency traders around the world that offers trading competitive fees and support for traditional fiat currencies such as the the New Zealand Dollar (NZD). Residents in New Zealand can buy/sell 24 of the major cryptocurrencies and popular DeFi tokens using SWIFT.
Visit Independent ReserveSince the exchange's launch in 2013, Independent Reserve has gained the trust of over 200,000 individuals and 8,000 SMSF accounts to obtain cryptocurrencies. The exchange is suited to high net-worth individuals and institutions that can obtain a buy and sell crypto fee as low as 0.05% per trade. However, for most New Zealand investors the fees start at 0.5% which is still very competitive in the industry.
Independent Reserve is a great option for security. The exchange has an immaculate record for safety and never been hacked or compromised. Customer funds are stored in offline wallets to minimise the risk of theft and accounts have a number of security measures available to them, including Two Factor Authentication to prevent fraudulent access. Independent Reserve also offers an insurance fund for premium members which is not offered by other exchanges in New Zealand.
Overall, Independent Reserve is one of the best exchanges in NZ for high-net worth investors that can access lower trading fees. The user interface is a little difficult to navigate and there is no mobile trading app which are disadvantages.
Zebpay is a digital currency exchange that provides a means for users to convert fiat currency into cryptocurrency. Buyers and sellers have access to the major cryptocurrency assets on the platform. ZebPay supports 163 different countries all across the world including New Zealand through a simple to use desktop and mobile trading app.
Visit ZebpayThe benefit of using Zebpay in NZ is to access the low trading fees of 0.4% per transaction. The fees are very competitive in the industry and means that investors can obtain more crypto for their money. The user interface is basic, simple and easy to use which streamlines the buying process.
BitPrime is a New Zealand based cryptocurrency exchange that is registered and licenced under local regulations. The exchange supports beginners and high-net worth investors with special Over-The-Counter rates for high volumes.
Visit BitPrimeThe quoted trading fees includes all costs such as bank charges, foreign exchange fees and slippage. The fees to use an online bank account to deposit funds to the platform varies between 2% and 2.9%. Compared to other options in NZ, the fees on BitPrime are quite high. Even the credit card costs are 5% of the total transaction amount.
However, investors will have peace of mind the transaction is secure using a NZ cryptocurrency exchange with a direct line of local support.
Like most countries in the world, the NZ Government does not consider Bitcoin or crypto illegal, meaning it can be bought and sold on exchanges if proper anti-fraud measures are adhered to. It legal to purchase Bitcoins, however customers should always check with a financial advisor before making an investment. For more information on where Bitcoin is legal and illegal, read our article which lists each region that has declared Bitcoin as legal tender.
When selecting a crypto exchange, it is important to ensure the platform supports your preferred deposit method. To convert NZD into BTC, the most common deposit methods are:
- Credit Card / Debit Card
- Bank account or bank transfer (EFT)
- Cash deposit
- PayPal
Using a credit/debit card to purchase Bitcoin on platforms such as Coinbase and eToro are the fastest ways to own the asset, however incur slightly higher fees. Bank account transfer is a reliable method which can take 1 to 3 days to complete the transaction.
Storing cryptocurrency using a New Zealand Bitcoin or cryptocurrency exchange is risky for several reasons. The most obvious vulnerability is the risk associated with online scams and hackers. As the security of the asset is left to the exchange, the investor has no control over the security of their investment.
In our opinion, the best way to store cryptocurrency assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin is on a reputable cryptocurrency hardware wallet which is kept under the possession of the investor. Some of the most popular Bitcoin and cryptocurrency hardware wallets are the Ledger Nano X, TREZOR T and CoolWallet Pro.
Using a digital hardware wallet provides an airlock between internet-connected devices and the asset. The private keys give access rights to the cryptocurrency (send, transfer and receive) is kept on the wallet. Even if the hardware wallet is damaged, lost or stolen, the funds can be recovered using several backup options.
For complete peace of mind, buying a Bitcoin hardware wallet is a small price to pay.
Finding a low fee cryptocurrency exchange is a popular requirement for beginners and experienced investors. One of top rated crypto exchanges with the lowest fees is Binance, with costs between 0% and 0.1% for all buy and sell orders. Competitor exchanges can charge trading fees up to 1% per transaction which can add up in the long run.
Credit cards are commonly used to make purchasing online, so it's no surprise that its a popular method to buy crypto. Not all exchanges available in NZ provide this deposit method so residents will need to use a global crypto exchange such as Binance, Coinbase, eToro, Changelly and ChangeNOW. The fees are slightly higher than other payment methods.
The best way to buy crypto in New Zealand is using Bank Transfer (EFT). It is the most popular and cost effective method available. Purchasing crypto using a bank transfer generally has the lowest fee's, fast transaction time and has higher daily limits.
To conclude our article on the best crypto exchanges in New Zealand, we believe the above exchanges are the best places to buy Bitcoin in NZ. Our research is based on trustworthiness, safety, trading fees and support NZD or debit/cards.
It is our own opinion and recommendation to stick with well-established and reputable exchanges when deciding if crypto is right for you. Our top rated crypto platforms in NZ have demonstrated this and used by millions of customers worldwide.
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Kevin GrovesKevin is the founder and chief editor at hedgewithcrypto that he started in 2019 which has reached over 1.5 million visitors worldwide. He is passionate about cryptocurrency as an emerging technology and is heavily involved in the fast-growing fintech space.
A professional trader growing his portfolio since 2016, he has a strong understanding of investing in the market using exchanges, brokers and derivatives platforms. After leaving his full-time job at the start of 2021, his mission today is to share information guides on crypto and to find the best exchanges via hedgewithcrypto through detailed reviews and comparisons.
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