Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges in NZ

Best Crypto Exchanges in New Zealand - Reviews

#1. Bybit Exchange – Best Overall in NZ (Lowest Trading Fees):

FREE $10 BITCOIN when you sign up with this link and deposit $100

Bybit is my #1 choice for crypto traders in New Zealand. It is perfectly suited for those that want to frequently trade crypto in order to take advantage of market fluctuations, and also caters for those who want to buy and hold their crypto for the long term.

Bybit is an extremely secure and reliable exchange, with over 10 million customers, and daily trading volume frequently exceeding $10 billion. Bybit's deep liquidity, 99.99% system functionality, and rapid trade speed of 100,000 trades/second attracts many New Zealand users.

There are more than 280+ coins available to trade on this platform, with spot trading, and derivatives markets (USDT Perpetual contracts, Inverse Perpetual contracts, and Inverse Futures contracts). Bybit has the lowest trading fees in New Zealand, of just 0.1%, just one sixth of the fee that Swyftx charges. If you are a derivatives trader, you will enjoy even lower fees, of 0.01% for makers and 0.06% for takers!

Experienced traders can take advantage of margin trading, with up to 100x leverage. This makes it easy to maximise profits from small fluctuations in the market, even with a small investment. A reminder though, that you must understand the risks of margin trading. If the price goes against your favour, you can very quickly lose your entire invested amount. This is not recommended for newcomers to trading, and should only be used by experienced traders. 

Bybit offers a testnet (demo mode), which operates just like the real site, and traders can try out various strategies without using their real money. This is an excellent learning tool that makes Bybit stand out from its competitors, who do not offer such a unique feature.

24/7 Live Chat support is always available, and there is even an insurance fund to protect traders from negative equity and being held accountable for excessive loss. If you sign up with this link, you will receive $10 BTC FREE when you deposit at least $100, as a limited offer.

• Excellent platform for crypto traders, with rapid trade speed and 99.99% system functionality
• Lowest trading fees for spot trading: 0.1% and derivatives: 0.01% / 0.06%
• More than 280+ cryptocurrencies on offer
• 24/7 Live Chat support
• Testnet platform (demo mode) so you can practise with play money
• Margin trading with up to 100x leverage

Other useful articles: Bybit review

#2. Swyftx Exchange – Best for Beginners:

FREE $20 BITCOIN if you sign up with this link

Swyftx was designed to be user-friendly, and offer an easy way to allow the everyday person to get started with cryptocurrency. They have definitely done that with an intuitive interface on both desktop site and mobile apps, and quick buy/sell functionality which even a complete beginner will be able to figure out. There are over 320+ cryptocurrencies available which is plenty for even the most advanced crypto trader. 

Kiwis love Swyftx because they can use NZD as the base currency; some other exchanges require currency conversion to USD which means you lose money even before you have started investing or trading. Swyftx has low fees of just 0.6% per trade, with low spreads averaging 0.51%, meaning a total combined fee and spread or just 1.11% according to this detailed test by reputable crypto review site Marketplace Fairness.

There are plenty of other features besides simple buying and selling. You can set up recurring buys, if you want to dollar cost average (DCA) your investment. Swyftx also has Bundles, which are a package of several cryptocurrencies that you can purchase in one lot, which saves you time while diversifying your investment across various coins.

Swyftx has a heavy focus on making the process smooth for beginners, and they have a Demo mode where you can practise trading with $10,000 play money for free. You can learn the ropes, and try out different strategies before investing your real money. If you ever get stuck on the platform, you can easily contact the customer support team via live chat, and their service is excellent.

To top it all off, it is free to deposit and withdraw NZD from your Swyftx account, and they even offer a signup bonus of $20 FREE Bitcoin if you use this referral link. There is no catch involved, you don't even need to deposit money before receiving it. If you want to read more before making up your mind, you can see my full Swyftx review here.

• $20 FREE Bitcoin simply for signing up, with no deposit required
• Over 320+ cryptocurrencies available to purchase with NZD
• Low trading fees of 0.6% with low spreads averaging 0.51%
• Free NZD deposits and withdrawals
• Live Chat customer support 24/7 to assist you with any issues

Other useful articles: Swyftx review, Swyftx vs Binance, Swyftx vs Crypto.com

#3. MEXC Trading Platform – Lowest Fees & Deepest Liquidity:

FREE $30 USDT and 10% off fees if you sign up with this link

MEXC is the best crypto exchange for advanced crypto traders in New Zealand. It offers an incredible number of cryptocurrencies (1,520+), several markets, and the deepest liquidity of any crypto exchange. You can see from the liquidity graph of BTC/USDT shown below, that MEXC has twice the liquidity of Bitget, and almost ten times the liquidity of other major platforms like Binance, Bybit and KuCoin.

Various trading options are available on MEXC, with spot trading, margin trading (up to 200x leverage), futures trading, bot trading, and copy trading. Trading fees are low, at 0% (FREE) for spot trading, and 0.0/0.02% (maker/taker) for futures trading. If you sign up using our unique link, you will also access 10% discount on all your trading fees, plus $30 USDT for FREE.

With such a huge range of coins, and more than 2,110 trading pairs, serious crypto traders will love exploring everything that MEXC has to offer. MEXC is a great platform that you can sign up to and never have to use another exchange again, as it has almost every feature you could ask for, and they continually improve their site with additional tools and options.

• Impressive collection of 1,520+ coins and 2,110+ trading pairs
• $30 FREE USDT and 10% off trading fees with our link
• Low trading fees of 0.0% for spot trading, 0.0/0.02% for futures
• Free trading bots, so you can automate your trading strategy
• Copy Trading is a great feature that you can use to copy the trades of successful investors

Other useful articles: Best No KYC crypto platforms, Best crypto trading bots, Best futures trading platforms

#4. KuCoin Exchange – Large Range of 700 Cryptocurrencies:

KuCoin is the crypto trading platform for you if you want access to an enormous range of coins. There are over 700+ different cryptocurrencies available to trade, with more being added regularly. The trading fees are very low, at just 0.1%, and you can reduce the fees by 20% if you pay using their own coin, KCS. 

For those that like to use trading bots to automate their strategy, KuCoin has free in-built bots that you can easily set up with just a few clicks. This means that you can profit from the continuous volatility that cryptocurrencies experience even when you are not sitting at your computer monitoring the prices. You also don't need to complicate things by linking a third-party bot to your crypto platform, since it is all integrated within KuCoin already.

KuCoin has plenty of features for experienced traders; besides spot trading, they have margin trading, futures, a P2P marketplace and crypto lending. However, we do not recommend KuCoin for beginners to cryptocurrency. Not only can it be overwhelming with all the features and advanced charts, but there is no option to trade using NZD, nor can you withdraw NZD or any fiat currency from the platform. KuCoin is designed purely as a cryptocurrency trading platform, and the intention is for traders to deposit crypto, trade with it, and then withdraw crypto.

• A feature-rich crypto trading platform with a range of features including margin trading, P2P marketplace, futures and crypto lending
• Low trading fees of just 0.1% that can be reduced by 20% if you pay with KCS
• Huge range of 700+ cryptocurrencies
• Free trading bots included in the platform

Other useful articles: KuCoin review

#5. Binance Exchange – Best for Experienced Traders:

Up to $100 Cashback Vouchers if you sign up with this link

Binance is the world's largest cryptocurrency platform by trading volume, and it is a very popular option in New Zealand for dedicated crypto traders. It is not recommended for beginners, because there are many features that can scare away first-timers, but if you have some experience with crypto, you will love what Binance has to offer.

Binance has more than 600+ different coins on their exchange, and they offer so many additional features such as margin trading, crypto lending, P2P marketplace, NFT marketplace, staking, and more. The trading fees are extremely low, at only 0.1% per transaction, with the option to reduce it by 25% if you pay with their native coin, BNB. You can also receive up to $100 in cashback vouchers if you sign up with this link.

If you like to automate your trading using bots, Binance is the perfect option, because it works seamlessly with many compatible trading bots. This allows you to continually trade and take advantage of fluctuations in price even when you are asleep.

• Low trading fees of just 0.1% 
• Use Binance Coin (BNB), the exchange’s native cryptocurrency, to reduce your trading fees by 25%
• Beginners can switch to Binance Lite, a more beginner-friendly, basic version of the platform
• Access to over 600+ cryptocurrencies, making it an ideal option for serious traders
• Plenty of extra features, like margin trading, crypto lending and staking

Other useful articles: Binance review, Binance vs Swyftx

Crypto.com is an excellent crypto app that allows easy purchasing and selling of over 250+ coins, all from the convenience of your mobile. There are no explicit trade fees, but the fees are included in the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell prices of cryptocurrencies. What makes Crypto.com app great is the staking offered. You can stake more than 40+ different coins, and earn up to 14.5% annual returns.  If you stake Crypto.com's native token, called Cronos (CRO), you receive higher returns on all your staked coins.

The best part of the Crypto.com app that many people are excited by, is the metal Visa debit card with benefits that you receive for free if you stake at least $500 worth of CRO. If you stake higher amounts, you can receive additional benefits. For example, you can receive up to 5% cashback on all purchases made with the card (paid to you in CRO), 100% rebates on Netflix and Spotify, airport lounge access, and even 10% rebates on Expedia and Airbnb. The Visa debit card has no annual fee, and you are not spending any of your crypto - you simply load it with fiat currency and spend it like a regular debit card.

• Easy-to-use mobile app where you can buy and sell over 250+ cryptocurrencies
• Staking supported on over 40+ different coins
• Stake CRO for a free Visa debit card that comes with plenty of benefits including cashback on each purchase
• Fees included in the spread, so whatever price you see is what you get

Other useful articles: Crypto.com review

#7. Independent Reserve Exchange – Best for Crypto Insurance:

Independent Reserve is an Australian crypto exchange that services the New Zealand market, allowing deposits and withdrawals of NZD. Although the interface looks quite outdated, it is easy to navigate and use. The trading fees on Independent Reserve are just 0.5%, which is lower than Swyftx's 0.6% fee, and if you are a high-volume trader, your fees will be reduced depending on the amount you trade in the previous 30 day period.

Independent Reserve is the only cryptocurrency exchange in New Zealand to offer insurance cover on cryptocurrency assets to the value of $5m. To gain access to this optional insurance, you need to pay for a Premium Account which ranges from $300 up to $35,000 per year. This comes with premium phone support, and insurance cover on your cryptocurrency from $20,000 up to $5 million. Independent Reserve also has tax reporting features powered by KPMG to make your crypto profit reporting easier. 

Independent Reserve is excellent for high-volume traders, due to the insurance and premium OTC desk service, which aids in the execution of large trades ($100,000+). A limitation of the exchange is that it only offers 27 different cryptocurrencies, which is quite low compared to other platforms available in New Zealand. The good thing is that most of the 27 coins are the most popular and traded ones. 

• Premium accounts receive access to cryptocurrency insurance and phone support
• Supports 27 cryptocurrencies that you can purchase directly with NZD 
• Automatic dollar-cost averaging tax reports powered by KPMG
• Low trading fees of 0.5% which can be discounted if you are a high volume trader

Other useful articles: Independent Reserve review

#8. BitPrime Crypto Retailer – Best for Security:

BitPrime is a local NZ-based crypto site that refers to itself as a cryptocurrency retailer as opposed to an exchange. They draw this distinction because they are a non-custodial site: they do not hold any of their users' cryptocurrency or NZD. This makes BitPrime the most secure option if you are buying and selling crypto in New Zealand. Your crypto and fiat assets are always in your control, in your personal crypto wallet and bank account, and even if BitPrime is hacked, you won't lose any funds.

BitPrime offers more than 150+ different cryptocurrencies on their platform, and the do not charge any additional fees on top of the listed prices. Any price you see is what you will get, and the way BitPrime makes money is through their spread (the difference between the buy and sell prices of cryptocurrency). The spreads are reasonable, at 2.9% for bank transfer, POLi and Account2Account payments, while credit card payments incur a higher spread of 5%. Remember that the crypto is sent straight to and from your own crypto wallet, which means you are saving money on the usual crypto transfer fee 

BitPrime does not charge a commission, but instead their fees are included in the spread. The spread starts at 2.9% for retail investors, and larger volume trades will lead to lower spreads.  Credit cards are accepted on BitPrime but the spreads will be higher, at 5%. While the fees may be a little higher than other crypto exchanges, remember that your crypto is sent directly to your personal wallet, so you are saving money by avoiding the  additional withdrawal fee that is standard on other platforms. 

• New Zealand-based crypto site that is officially registered, regulated, IRD compliant
• Non-custodial platform, so your crypto and fiat funds are always in your control
• Over 150+ cryptocurrencies available to buy and sell with NZD
• Fees included in spread, which is just 2.9% for POLi, bank transfer and Account2Account (5% spread for credit card payments)

#9. Easy Crypto NZ – Best for Quick Purchases:

Easy Crypto NZ is a great choice for those that want to make a purchase of crypto straight away. It works differently to regular crypto exchanges or trading platforms, because it is non-custodial. What this means is that Easy Crypto does not have any control of your NZD or your crypto. When you make a purchase, you send your NZD directly from your bank account, without having to deposit money into Easy Crypto first. After you have made your purchase, the crypto you have bought will be transferred to your personal crypto wallet instead of sitting in an account online. This is a way of ensuring that your crypto is always safe because you always control the private keys to your crypto wallet. Even if Easy Crypto gets hacked or compromised, your funds will also be completely safe as they are stored off the exchange. They also offer a 100% funds guarantee on each order, so you don't need to worry about anything going wrong during a transaction.

• No fiat or cryptocurrencies are stored on the exchange, giving you total control over your funds
• Transparent, clear fees with no hidden costs
• Buy 100 cryptocurrencies with NZD instantly without depositing first
• 100% funds safety guarantee on every order

Conclusion

I trust that you have found this article helpful in choosing a crypto exchange. You may also be interested in my article on the best crypto wallets in NZ, so you can store your crypto safely.

If you have any questions regarding anything crypto or blockchain, feel free to drop me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. 

Comparison Table of Best Crypto Exchanges in NZ

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