Report contents
APAC · Established
New Zealand
Crypto Livability Index 2025·data to 31 Dec 2025
Scoreboard
Five pillars, then the 22 sub-pillars scored 0 to 4. Empty sub-scores are held out of the total, not zeroed.
The number behind the rank
| Raw capability score | 66 / 84 |
| P2P liquidity bonus (tie-breaker) | +0 |
| Inflation 3.8% · unbanked 2% · remittances 0.3% GDP · capital controls 0 · sanctions 0 | CNI 0.022 |
| Need multiplier | ×0.533 |
| Livability score | 0.419 |
Raw 66/84 = 0.786 capability. Crypto-Necessity Index 0.02, from five components: inflation 3.8% (three-year average 2023 to 2025), unbanked 2% of adults, remittances 0.3% of GDP, capital-control intensity 0.00 (KAOPEN 2023), sanctions exposure 0. Need multiplier ×0.53. Livability score 0.419, rank #41 of 79.
Three findings
A top-eleven capability that falls 30 places on need
New Zealand ranks #11 on raw capability with 66/84 but drops to #41 once need is applied. The Crypto-Necessity Index is 0.02: inflation 3.8%, only 2% of adults unbanked, remittances 0.3% of GDP, with the country a net sender to its Pacific Island neighbours. Strong rails, almost no structural reason to lean on them.
Every utility bill is payable in crypto through one invoice-upload rail
New Zealand scores a perfect 4 on utility bills because Pay It Now lets a user upload any invoice, electricity, water, mobile, internet, gas or rent, pick a digital asset, and have it settled in New Zealand dollars to the payee's bank account. Combined with 211 crypto ATMs across the three main metros and at least two Tier-1 cards, the spending stack is among the most complete measured.
The lone zero on P2P liquidity in the region
New Zealand is the only one of the 22 markets to score 0 on the P2P bonus, because the FMA-regulated broker model centralises flow and leaves grassroots peer-to-peer rails isolated, even as 31% of adults hold crypto. The market is broker-led, not street-led.
In one line
"New Zealand made it possible to pay every household bill in crypto and put cards in nearly everyone's reach. In a stable, fully banked economy, the achievement is real and the necessity is almost nil."
Watch in 2026
Trajectory 3/4, trending liberalising. The FMA launched a fintech sandbox with six firms in late 2024 and released a Tokenisation in Financial Markets discussion paper in September 2025, with consultation closing 14 November 2025 and more than 20 submissions received. The chief executive signalled intent to expand the sandbox into a restricted on-ramp licence, the work-in-progress to watch in 2026.