Nordea Liv warns bitcoin story will end in tears after billionaire investor's turnaround
Norwegian billionaire investor Øystein Stray Spetalen, who bashed bitcoin in a DNB Invest podcast last week, has changed his mind and invested on cryptocurrency, reports Finansavisen.
Spetalen told Finansavisen late last week that he is following Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke and has uploaded both bitcoin and shares in Norwegian crypto exchange Miraiex. The precise value of his bitcoin investment, however, remains disclosed.
"When the facts change, I change. I met the Miraiex founders Thuc [Hoang]and Øyvind [Kvanes] the day after the podcast was recorded in early March, and realized that I had been wrong. And when I also read that Kjell Inge Røkke had gone into bitcoin, it was quite obvious. I can't bear to see that Røkke makes money and I don't," Spetalen says, referring to the chairman of Aker ASA.
Will more Norwegians become tempted to buy bitcoin?
An estimated 300,000 Norwegians own cryptocurrencies, writes DN. Reputable players such as Røkke and Spetalen's entry into the market may lead to even more people being tempted to buy bitcoin, but Nordea Liv's CIO Leif-Rune Rein warns against it:
"I think this will end in tears, it's just a matter of time, although the value of the 'paper' can be very high before this happens. In the long run, I have no faith in bitcoin, but see that many are pushing for it. It is very difficult to understand, because we cannot even define what bitcoin is," says Rein to DN.
Expecting growth of crypto exchange
Miraiex, founded in 2017, allows users to exchange Norwegian krones for bitcoin and altcoins. Users can connect their domestic bank account to the exchange and deposit funds with express payments. The service is currently limited to Norwegian citizens, and all users must have a Norwegian personal identification number.
"Miraiex can be bigger than Euronext. Only without the French. They have been incredibly good, and I immediately said that I want to join the board," Spetalen adds.
In DNB Invest podcast, Spetalen had argued that global bitcoin mining consumes an electricity volume equating to Norway's energy consumption and thus has a detrimental affect on the environment. "Authorities and the EU should ban this immediately. Then you would cut CO2 emissions considerably," Spetalen said.
Earlier in March, Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker launched the crypto company Seetee and announced that they had purchased bitcoins worth NOK 500m.
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