Buying ether with NZD without overpaying on gas

Ether, Ethereum and gas: the 60-second version

Ethereum is a blockchain that runs programs — lending apps, exchanges, NFT marketplaces, stablecoins. Ether (ETH) is its coin, and you need it to pay for anything on the network. That payment is called gas: a fee to the validators who process transactions, which rises when lots of people want block space at once.

Since The Merge on 15 September 2022, Ethereum has run on proof of stake. Instead of miners burning electricity, validators lock up ETH as a bond and earn rewards for keeping the network honest; ethereum.org estimates the switch cut its energy use by about 99.95%. That change is why “staking” sits next to “buying” on most exchange apps — and why IRD has views on it, which we get to below.

For the basics of opening an account and paying with NZD, our how-to-buy guide has you covered. This page focuses on what is different about ether.

Where to buy ETH with New Zealand dollars

Ether is listed on every serious platform that serves New Zealand. The real differences are how your NZD gets in and whether you can withdraw the ETH to use it — which matters far more for ether than for bitcoin, because most people buy ETH to do something with it.

On NZ$1,000, the published fees work out roughly like this. Swyftx charges 0.6% (NZ$6) plus a spread, with free NZD bank transfers in and out. Sharesies Crypto charges 0.8% plus a 0.5% currency fee, about NZ$13, and its ETH stays with its custodian, Kraken — you can’t send it to a wallet, so it suits holding, not using. CEX.IO, operating since 2013 with entities registered or licensed in the UK and US, takes NZD cards (converted at checkout) at 0.49% to 4.99% depending on the payment provider, plus a 0.25% spot fee; it has no NZD bank deposits. Some Localcoin and CoinFlip machines also sell ETH, but at around 16% our crypto ATM guide explains why that is a last resort.

Choosing a withdrawal network: Ethereum mainnet or a layer-2?

Here is the decision most first-time ETH buyers don’t know they are making. When you withdraw ether, the exchange asks which network to send it on. The choice used to be “Ethereum” and nothing else. Now there are several layer-2 networks — Base, Arbitrum and Optimism are the best known — that process transactions off the main chain and post them back to Ethereum in batches. Your ETH on Base is still ETH, but it lives on Base until you bridge it back.

The fee difference is real. CEX.IO’s published schedule charges 0.00084 ETH to withdraw on Ethereum and 0.0004 ETH on Base — less than half. On a 0.1 ETH withdrawal that is 0.84% of your coins on mainnet versus 0.4% on Base, before you’ve done anything with them. Layer-2s got much cheaper still after Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade on 13 March 2024, which created a cheaper way for rollups to post their data to the main chain. Once your ETH is on a layer-2, everyday transactions there typically cost a fraction of mainnet gas.

So which should you pick? If you plan to use an app — a DeFi protocol, a game, an NFT market — check which networks it runs on and withdraw straight there. If you are simply holding ETH in a hardware wallet, mainnet is the simplest and most widely supported. The one rule that never changes: the network you choose when withdrawing must match the network the receiving wallet or exchange expects.

Moving ETH between networks: bridges and the gas buffer

Once your ether is on a layer-2, getting it somewhere else takes a bridge — a service that locks it on one network and releases it on another. Official bridges for rollups such as Arbitrum and Optimism can take days to release funds back to Ethereum mainnet, while third-party bridges are faster but add another contract you have to trust. Often the cheapest bridge is an exchange: deposit on the network you are on, withdraw on the one you want, and pay one withdrawal fee. Check first that the exchange supports both networks for deposits as well as withdrawals.

Whatever network you use, leave a little ETH behind for gas. Every action on Ethereum — sending a token, approving an app, even cancelling an approval — costs gas paid in ETH, so a wallet that is completely empty of ether can’t move anything else in it. A small buffer avoids an awkward extra purchase just to pay a fee, and on a layer-2 that buffer can be tiny.

Wallets for ether: MetaMask, hardware and the approvals problem

Most Ethereum activity happens through a self-custody wallet. MetaMask, a browser extension and phone app, is the best known, and others such as Rabby, Coinbase Wallet and Trust Wallet do the same job; Localcoin recommends Trust Wallet among others for ATM purchases. They all share one feature: the same 0x address works across Ethereum and its layer-2s, and you switch networks inside the app.

For anything you would be upset to lose, pair the app with a hardware wallet so the keys never touch an internet-connected computer. Our crypto wallet guide compares the options available in New Zealand. And learn about token approvals early: when you use a DeFi app, you often give it permission to move a token from your wallet. A malicious or compromised app can use an old, unlimited approval to drain that token later, so review and revoke approvals you no longer need.

Staking ETH: options, risks and minimums

Staking means locking up ETH to help secure the network in exchange for rewards. You don’t need 32 ETH to take part, but how you stake changes who holds the keys and what can go wrong. Ethereum’s own documentation lays out four routes:

Solo staking needs 32 ETH and a computer online around the clock; validators that misbehave can be “slashed”, losing part of their stake, and those that go offline lose small amounts. With a service provider you hand over signing keys and pay a cut of rewards. Pooled staking gives you a token representing your stake, which adds smart-contract risk. Exchange staking is the simplest — CEX.IO, for example, advertises staking and savings products — but you are trusting the platform with both the ETH and the rewards. Rates move constantly; treat any advertised yield as a snapshot, not a promise.

How IRD taxes staking rewards

IRD’s guidance on mining covers proof-of-stake too: its mining page describes people taking part in “proof of stake mining” through staking pools or staking-as-a-service providers. On mining rewards, IRD says that in most cases crypto-assets you get from mining are taxable, and that you may also owe tax on any profit when you later sell or exchange them. In practical terms, staking rewards are generally income, and the ETH you staked stays subject to the usual rules on disposal.

Gas fees are part of what each transaction costs you, so keep them in your records as well; IRD’s guidance on working out income and expenses explains how costs are treated. Our crypto tax guide covers rates, record-keeping and worked NZD examples.

DeFi and NFTs: proceed with caution

Holding ETH is one thing; using it in decentralised finance or on NFT markets is another. Smart contracts can have bugs, bridges between networks have been hacked repeatedly, and phishing sites copy real apps down to the pixel. Big platforms aren’t immune either: in February 2025 the exchange Bybit lost about US$1.5 billion in ether in a hack the FBI attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus group.

Start with small amounts, use a separate “hot” wallet for experiments, and never connect the wallet that holds your savings to a site you found through an ad or a direct message. The FMA regularly warns about fake crypto investment platforms promising staking or trading returns; our scam watch page keeps the current list. NFTs also sit slightly apart for tax: a 2021 tax bill excluded crypto-assets from GST but flagged that NFTs could be treated differently, so check before you mint or sell them as a business.

Is ether the right coin for you?

Ether makes most sense if you want to use the Ethereum ecosystem — the apps, tokens and layer-2s — or if you believe that network will keep growing. If you simply want to own a slice of crypto for the long term, many Kiwis start with bitcoin; our bitcoin buying guide covers that route, including bitcoin-only services. If what you really need is something that holds a dollar value on-chain, look at our USDT guide instead.

We didn’t verify any New Zealand-listed ether fund for this guide, so we don’t cover funds or ETFs here. And when it is time to turn ETH back into NZD, bring it home on a network your exchange supports and follow our guide to cashing out.