CryptoWinter26 runs 25-27 August 2026 at QT Queenstown, opening with Touchdown networking drinks on the evening of 25 August followed by a two-day main conference on 26 and 27 August. It is created by Blockchain New Zealand and Tech New Zealand under the theme "New Zealand Goes Global: Shaping the future of digital assets". The published programme features the Financial Markets Authority, the Department of Internal Affairs, KPMG, Kiwibank, Sharesies, Swyftx and Australia's Digital Economy Council, with Binance, Stripe, KuCoin, Bitget and Chainalysis among the partners.
CryptoWinter26 takes place from 25 to 27 August 2026 at QT Queenstown, 30 Brunswick Street. The organisers' own programme shows the event opening with Touchdown networking drinks from 18:00 on Tuesday 25 August, with the main conference running across Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 August. This year's theme is "New Zealand Goes Global: Shaping the future of digital assets" — a deliberate step on from the 2025 edition, which the organisers framed around identifying opportunities rather than acting on them.
The conference was created by Blockchain Forum New Zealand — which trades publicly as Blockchain New Zealand, part of the Tech New Zealand alliance — together with Tech New Zealand. Executive Director Trevor Topfer fronts the event and MCs the opening session, and the association's August 2026 member update confirms the programme was locked in during July alongside a sponsor line-up it described as humbling.
The association is not a pure events business. In the same period it lodged a collective industry submission on MBIE's payment services consultation, responded to the FMA's discussion paper on custody of assets, and published a principles-based Digital Assets Framework roadmap for regulation in New Zealand. That policy work is visible in the conference agenda rather than bolted onto it.
CryptoWinter is a young franchise. The inaugural CryptoWinter '25 ran 13-14 August 2025 at the Rendezvous Heritage Hotel in Queenstown and was capped at 150 handpicked leaders, covering tokenisation of real estate, stablecoins, digital asset regulation, cybersecurity and blockchain sustainability. The 2026 edition moves to a larger hotel, adds a day, and expands from two to three days of formal content.
The organisers describe the audience as Aotearoa's full crypto and digital assets ecosystem — regulators, builders, investors and enterprise. The published programme bears that out with unusual specificity for an event still weeks from delivery.
Regulators and agencies are on the record as speakers, not just invitees: Alan Crofts and Alexandra McNair from the Financial Markets Authority, and Rocky Yuen from the Department of Internal Affairs AML/CFT Group. Financial services is represented by KPMG New Zealand, Kiwibank, Cuscal Paymark, Sharesies, Kōura Wealth and EY; legal and tax by MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Lane Neave and Hamilton Locke; and the exchange and infrastructure side by Swyftx, Immersve and AUDD. Amy-Rose Goodey, chief executive of Australia's Digital Economy Council, delivers a trans-Tasman keynote.
The partner list runs to Binance, Stripe, KuCoin, Bitget, Chainalysis, Swyftx, AUDD, Sharesies, KPMG, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, GD1, Lane Neave, Immersve, Kōura Wealth, Macropod, Pay It Now, VerifyVASP and Propopoly — a genuinely international sponsor sheet for a New Zealand association conference.
Sessions include a panel on New Zealand's competitive position in digital-asset policy, a debate on where traditional banking meets blockchain, a panel on the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and its implications for New Zealand platforms and investors, a fireside chat revisiting the Dasset and Cryptopia collapses and what changed as a result, and a panel on agentic AI in commerce. Day two opens with a separately bookable Stablecoin Breakfast on whether a New Zealand dollar-backed stablecoin is viable, then moves into rotating roundtables. Two evening functions sit in the programme, including one presented by Binance.
A related but distinct gathering follows: the Blockchain New Zealand Policy Summit, held in Queenstown on 28 August 2026, by invitation only and operating under the Chatham House Rule.
QT Queenstown at 30 Brunswick Street is confirmed as the conference venue by both the organiser's event listing and the independent NZ Tech Events calendar. The 2025 edition used a different property, the Rendezvous Heritage Hotel on Fernhill Road, so this is a venue change rather than a repeat booking.
The programme notes that for sponsor-hosted evening gatherings, venues in or near Queenstown's CBD have been prioritised for ease of access — a practical signal that the organisers are running a walkable, town-centre footprint rather than a dispersed one. Delegates should note that the CryptoWinter website currently carries some residual content from another Tech New Zealand event, including a Wellington venue map in the footer and transport references to Creative HQ; the confirmed 2026 location is Queenstown.
CryptoWinter is a useful case study in a pattern Queenstown does well: a national-scale industry conference that uses a resort destination to pull attendance rather than fight it. The organisers were explicit about this in 2025, noting that many delegates extend their stay for skiing and winter activities and bring family — the winter timing is a feature, not an obstacle, and it lands squarely in a season the destination has historically worked hard to fill with leisure demand.
It is also an example of an association conference growing on the strength of its policy relevance. The event has gone from a capped 150-delegate inaugural gathering to a three-day programme with government agencies on stage, an invitation-only policy summit bolted to the back end, and international exchange sponsorship. For New Zealand business events, that is the shape of a conference with a second and third year in it — driven by a sector with live regulatory questions and a national association willing to convene them in one room.
The adjacent Policy Summit on 28 August is worth noting on its own terms. Stacking an invitation-only Chatham House Rule working forum immediately after a public conference extends delegate length of stay by an extra night and captures the senior end of the audience while they are already in the region — a straightforward and effective piece of programme design.
Cited links supporting this report.
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