How to Sell Crypto in New Zealand in 2022

How to Sell Crypto in New Zealand

New Zealand is a growing crypto market with many exchanges and crypto software services available to its residents. Of course, it’s important to be aware of what to look for in a crypto exchange, as well as to have an understanding of the risks and fundamentals involved in selling. Let’s get into it!

What Does 2022 Hold for Bitcoin?

There is no final thought on what 2022 holds for Bitcoin. There have been various predictions on what the price of Bitcoin will be at the end of 2022 from various stakeholders in some crypto communities.

Surprisingly, the recent crash in Bitcoin price hasn’t affected the adoption of digital currency. Some countries including El Salvador and Paraguay have adopted bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar. 

Other countries have revealed similar plans to do the same. The institutions that have adopted Bitcoin include JP Morgan, Microstrategy, Goldman Sachs, etc.

Whether these predictions will hold or not, what is certain is that the adoption of Bitcoin will increase by the end of 2022.

How Secure is Cryptocurrency Now?

The security of a cryptocurrency varies wildly depending on the project. Projects that are more decentralized (i.e., not directly controlled by any one person or group of people) are generally considered to be more secure than others, and this is also said of projects with a higher market cap.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are mainstream assets these days, often featuring in the financial news alongside assets such as gold or major tech stocks. The longevity of these projects, and the fact that the developers cannot make changes to the cryptocurrencies without complete community consensus from crypto miners, contributes to their reputation as secure assets.

Of course, your crypto is only as secure as your method of storage. If you’re not keeping your crypto safely secured in a reputable wallet, your funds are at risk of loss or theft.

Wallet providers that offer custodial protection or two-factor authentication (meaning you need to confirm withdrawals with a separate device, such as a laptop or tablet) are seen as highly secure. The most secure method of storage is cold or offline storage, meaning funds cannot be accessed online — however, this is not convenient for trading. Some users opt for a mix of custodial and offline storage.

Are there any Fees for Exchanging Crypto to NZD?

Almost all cryptocurrency exchanges have a trading fee when customers purchase and sell coins using their platform. These fees include the maker fee and the taker fee. Exchanges offer lower fees to traders who trade larger volumes of crypto. Hence, trading a low volume of crypto is not cost-efficient at some cryptocurrency exchanges.

Cryptocurrency and Tax Guide for New Zealand 

New Zealand’s Inland Revenue (‘IRD’) has created a guide on how cryptocurrency will be taxed. According to the guide, crypto assets are considered as a form of property for tax purposes”. But such crypto assets will attract some tax based on the characteristics and use of the assets, not what they are called. 

All activities geared toward making profits are called disposal and will be taxed. These include swapping your cryptocurrency for another, and trading crypto. All unrealized gains are also taxable. The guide states:

• “If your purpose for getting crypto assets is to sell or exchange them, you’ll need to pay income tax when you do.”
• “If you make a loss when you sell your crypto assets you may be able to claim this loss.”

If you are a regular trader, it might be a good idea to keep the crypto for trading separate from your long-term holds by using different exchanges or hardware wallets.

If you want to reduce your risk, note that transferring crypto to a different wallet or platform may be seen as a disposal. Transfers made to non-custodial wallets which you own and control should reduce the chances of IRD referring to that activity as a taxable income.

Use platforms like taxoshi and koinly to save you time in calculating your income tax return. It’s important to note that every taxpayer’s situation is different. When in doubt, seek specific advice from online resources or experts for your situation.

How to Sell Crypto in NZ

Selling crypto in New Zealand can be as easy as purchasing it, with a bunch of different options being available for you to choose from. These include but are not limited to, selling on an exchange, selling to an individual directly, certain Bitcoin ATMs, or finding an exchange platform that facilitates direct P2P transactions.

Just like buying crypto, it is always a good idea to keep in mind the propensity for fraud that can sadly be found throughout various parts of the crypto ecosystem. So finding a method that’s safe for you is always a good idea.

Crypto exchanges such as CryptoWallet.com and Bitprime and Binance all have strong security protocols and will even enable you to sell to the exchange directly. This is certainly one of the fastest and more straightforward ways for selling your crypto for cash or even another cryptocurrency. This process is pretty straightforward and mirrors the process of purchasing crypto.

Simply choose and exchange, register an account, follow the registration process, link, or create a wallet and wait for the platform to inform you that you are free to sell your crypto at your leisure.

How to Buy Bitcoin in New Zealand

Buying Bitcoin in New Zealand isn’t much different from buying crypto in many parts of the world. Thanks to a hands-off approach to cryptocurrencies in general you can expect little trouble when looking to purchase Bitcoin.

So first you might want to start by thinking about the way you’d like to trade for Bitcoin. Would you prefer to pay via credit card? Send money directly to an exchange? Or trade an already existing crypto for some Bitcoin?

Thankfully in the modern crypto era, most exchanges will offer you a host of payment opportunities allowing you a variety of options, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one that suits you. A shortlist of vendors you might want to take a look at are CryptoWallet.com, BitPrime, styx, and Kiwi Coin.

While there are differences to be found amongst these platforms generally speaking the registration processes are fairly similar. So start by creating an account on your chosen exchange. This will require providing some details about yourself for KYC purposes, confirmation of one’s identity via some legal documentation, and the creation of security protocols to keep your money safe.

Once completed, the platform will inform you that you are free to trade and you can purchase Bitcoin by following the in-platform guides.