The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) announced plans to expand its FinTech sandbox pilot, with a shift toward introducing an “on-ramp” or restricted licence designed to let innovative firms enter the market subject to conditions that could be removed as the business grows. Results from the current pilot show six firms participated and four identified a pathway to market for products or services that may otherwise have been delayed by regulatory uncertainty or other entry barriers. As part of the pilot, the FMA declared Easy Crypto’s non-yielding stablecoin is not a financial product under the Financial Markets Conduct Act, and noted that the work provided insights into innovation-related benefits and risks and helped identify gaps in existing regulation. Separately, the FMA published submissions received in response to its September 2025 tokenisation discussion paper, which highlighted benefits such as broader capital-raising opportunities and increased liquidity, alongside risks including virtual-asset custody issues, cyber security, and fraud and scams involving fake tokenised assets, as well as concerns about legal and regulatory uncertainty. Engagement on next steps for the sandbox pilot is planned at the FinTech Hui in Wellington, while the FMA will continue working with policymakers on potential changes to legal and regulatory frameworks.

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