This week
Visa brought close to 100 people to the National Museum in Oslo yesterday — banks, acquirers, merchants and crypto-native companies — for its first stablecoin summit in Norway. Kaupr was in the room all day, and this edition is built around what was said there.
The case for stablecoins came first, from Visa itself: the only form of money that ticks all five boxes. Then DNB answered no, and explained why. Then four people on a stage were asked whether stablecoins are a new rail, a niche or overhyped, and gave three different answers.
Separately in this edition: CoinShares has asked 2,230 wealthy investors in seven countries what they hold, and the Swedish answers are the most cautious of the lot. Ace Digital reports a profit and no debt. Hilbert opens its own trading strategy to outside money. And NBX can now pay customers out in cash in more than 200 countries.
This edition comes out on Wednesday rather than Tuesday because of the summit.
Morten Founder & Editor, Kaupr
How to invest in the tokenization trends
Live online today, 7 October, 11:00–12:30 CET. Virtune's chief executive and co-founder Christopher Kock and Chief Sales Officer Andreas Severin on what is driving tokenization, which platforms the financial industry is building on, and how investors can gain exposure through regulated ETPs. Moderated by Morten Myrstad. Free.
Visa’s stablecoin summit in Oslo
Kaupr was in the room at the National Museum all day. This is what was said.
Why Visa is hosting a stablecoin summit in Oslo
Its own consulting arm has been mapping adoption across the Nordics and Baltics, and decided it was time to get the Norwegian industry in one room. That room held close to 100 people: banks, acquirers, merchants and crypto-native companies.
Close to 100 people at the Oslo Stablecoin Summit at the National Museum.
Visa's starting point: a common foundation
Janne Elisabeth Tranby, Director at Visa Consulting & Analytics, opened the day: "Stablecoins are no longer a topic for only a small group of specialists." Her read of the Norwegian market is that some organisations are still building their understanding, some are assessing what stablecoins mean for their business customers, and some already have live solutions. This is Visa's first such meeting in Norway, and the stated aim was a common foundation before moving to use cases and implementation.
The only column with a tick in every row
Andranik Mnatsakanyan from Visa, first up, called this "the WhatsApp moment of money". His slide put cash, bank deposits, credit cards and stablecoins side by side on five features: store of value, medium of exchange, digital, borderless, programmable. Stablecoins are the only column with a green tick in every row. Cash fails three, bank deposits two, cards three.
Andranik Mnatsakanyan, Visa, on the five features.
DNB: no, and not because of the technology
Will stablecoins become mainstream? Ole Morten Sunde of DNB answered no. Not because the technology falls short, but because everything around it keeps moving. Domestic stablecoin payment use cases in Norway are close to nil, he said, and in Europe the problem stablecoins solve is getting smaller: instant payments are now free and standard, Vipps is expanding its reach, and tokenised bank deposits tick all five boxes on Visa's own feature table — inside banking regulation and with deposit guarantee. Central bank money is going on-chain as well. Norges Bank's shared ledger now runs with 12 participants, DNB among them.
Ole Morten Sunde, DNB: one stack, different jobs.
Where he does see stablecoins fitting: reach
Getting money into corridors where banking systems are weak, company-to-company payments abroad, treasury in dollars. "Will I receive my salary on-chain? I think yes. But in the form of a tokenised bank deposit from my bank." One stack, different jobs: central bank reserves settle, bank deposits lend, stablecoins reach. The competition, Sunde said, will be within the layers, not between them.
One question, three answers
Viktor Möllborg of Visa put it to the panel before anything else: is stablecoin a meaningful new rail, a useful niche, or overhyped?
Lars Marius Sæverhagen, DNB — a useful niche. Feasible now, but it will become more niche once other forms of money catch up.
Snorre Corneliussen, Nets — whether it's a niche doesn't matter. Nets sells schemes, and the more the merrier. "Bring it on, 2 per cent. That's more than enough, because then there's space for 50 others."
Stig Aleksander Kjos-Mathisen, NBX — "the carbon, the building blocks of digital finance." Definitely not overhyped. NBX has issued a dollar stablecoin for over a year, is launching euro and złoty versions later this year, and is building a multi-currency stablecoin card with Visa.
The bank hedges, the acquirer is indifferent, the issuer is all in.
From left: Möllborg, Kjos-Mathisen, Sæverhagen, Corneliussen.
Stablecoins outside the room
Two of the things discussed in Oslo were already moving while the summit ran.
NBX registered as a MoneyGram agent
NBX has been registered as an agent for MoneyGram International with the National Bank of Belgium, MoneyGram's home-state supervisor in the EEA. The registration took effect on 4 October.
Cash at the other end
The registration gives NBX customers access to MoneyGram's network across more than 200 countries and territories and over 470,000 agent locations, so they can withdraw funds in cash in addition to the existing digital payout channels. NBX describes cash access as one of the structural gaps between digital asset platforms and traditional banking, and the registration as a last-mile cash-out capability in markets where card acceptance, bank transfers or local payment rails are limited.
Built on the licences it already holds
The agent registration comes on top of NBX's Norwegian electronic money institution licence and its MiCA CASP authorisation from Finanstilsynet, both passported across the EEA. Technical integration and commercial launch follow the effective date, and the company says it will return with information on timing and market availability.
AllUnity launches a dollar stablecoin under MiCA
USDAU is the fourth currency from the Frankfurt issuer, after the euro, the Swiss franc and SEKAU — which in May was the first regulated stablecoin in a Nordic currency. It launched on 30 September across six blockchains, with Banking Circle as reserve bank and Flowdesk as liquidity provider.
The Nordic anchor is the Swedish krona
At the same time, the Business Mint Account gets exchange between dollars, euros, francs and Swedish kroner, with stablecoins as the intermediary. Chief executive Alexander Höptner told Kaupr in May that the dollar was in the plan, and that five to six currencies would follow after the summer. USDAU is the first of them.
What the wealthy actually hold
CoinShares asked 2,230 affluent investors in seven countries what they own. Two in three hold crypto. Sweden holds least, and has the fewest wealth managers who will touch it.
Affluent Swedes are the most crypto-sceptical in CoinShares' study
Sweden came out as the most cautious of the seven markets by considerable margins, and the 304 Swedish respondents were labelled "risk-averse traditionalists". Adoption among the affluent is 54 per cent against a European average of 64, and 52 per cent describe themselves as observers — the highest share in the survey.
The number that matters for anyone selling into this market: only 34 per cent have a wealth manager who actively includes digital assets, the lowest of the seven and against a European average of 51. Meanwhile 62 per cent say they would rather buy through traditional channels than on an exchange. Report author Laurence Vardaxoglou offers no single explanation for why Sweden sits where it does.
Two in three affluent investors hold crypto
Across all seven markets, digital assets make up around ten per cent of the portfolio — comparable to private equity. Traders are six per cent of respondents, three in Sweden, which undercuts the speculation story at this level of wealth.
The gap is on the advice side: only 13 per cent of financial advisers actively recommend digital assets. "When we talk to wealth managers and regulators, they are very cautious. When we talk to end clients, they have already invested heavily and want more," says Benoît Pellevoizin of CoinShares.
On the Nordic shelf
Bitwise has eight ETPs listed in the Nordics
Marco Poblete, Regional Director Nordics at Bitwise, told Kaupr TV that the company has had eight ETPs listed in the Nordics since its launch in Stockholm in January, and that the bitcoin product BTC1 has passed SEK 2 billion.
His read of the market: healthier, not convinced
Bitcoin is up more than 40 per cent since June but still a third below last October's peak. Around USD 2.4 billion went into American spot ETFs last week, and the rise comes even after the Fed raised rates to 3.75–4 per cent. Poblete holds back all the same: the recovery convinces him when buyers stay through a bad week, not just a good one. The Clarity Act fell in the Senate on 15 September, 49 against 50, and he points to unsettled rules making decisions take longer.
What the businesses actually earn
Three sets of figures from the same week: a licence move paying for itself, a listed bitcoin company with a profit and no debt, and a trading desk turning its own strategy into fee income.
GreenMerc cuts SEK 4.8 million a year as Northcrypto turns profitable
Costs are down by around SEK 400,000 a month, and Northcrypto ran an operating surplus in both July and August. The SEK 1.2 million saved per quarter is larger than the underlying loss in the first half.
Where the money goes
Into Trijo One, which combines a bank account, card, Swish and payments with regulated crypto trading, built on Marginalen Bank's embedded banking platform. Pre-registrations are above 1,700, and Trijo and Northcrypto had 77,902 customers at the end of June. Management has lent the group SEK 1 million.
This is the sequel to the licence move
In the last edition, GreenMerc withdrew its MiCA appeal and moved the Swedish business onto Northcrypto's Finnish licence. This is the arithmetic of that move: one licence, one organisation, duplicate systems and supplier agreements wound down.
Ace Digital posts NOK 6.3 million profit in the third quarter
The Oslo-listed bitcoin company reported a profit of NOK 6.3 million for the three months to 30 September. Equity rose 19.3 per cent to NOK 39.1 million, the last NOK 0.5 million of debt was repaid, and operating costs ran 43 per cent below the pace of the first half.
The holding went from 1.6 to 5.3 bitcoin without the company buying any. The increase came from options: net option delta at quarter-end corresponded to about 45 bitcoin, giving an estimated economic exposure of about 57 bitcoin for the company as a whole. Cash distributions from preferred securities covered around 80 per cent of operating costs.
K33 has been Ace Digital's infrastructure partner for trading and custody since last autumn, and Torbjørn Bull Jenssen sits on the company's advisory board.
Hilbert opens Enigma's crypto strategy to outside investors
Hilbert Group is launching Enigma One, the first fund from the Enigma trading platform it bought in January. One version of Enigma's statistical arbitrage strategy is being opened to external investors while the rest stay closed, which moves Hilbert from trading its own book to management and performance fees.
The fund is capped at USD 5 million, because returns in statistical arbitrage erode as capital grows. Fees are 2 and 30 per cent, against a target of 40–60 per cent gross annual return. It launches through Syntetika, the second Hilbert strategy on that onchain platform.
Industry Notes
Done brings buy now, pay later to business invoices in Norway
Done BNPL launches inside the Finago accounting system, making Finago the first ERP system in Norway to offer the payment method on invoices. The supplier is paid in full immediately, the buyer can spread payment over up to 36 months, and the credit comes from Swedish Bankaktiebolaget Nordiska. Done carries no credit risk and earns fees on financed volume.
Avanza has opened its Danish office
Christoffer Fentz announced on 1 October that Avanza Bank has opened the doors to its new Danish office, a step towards the launch in the second half of 2027. Fentz joined Avanza in edition 7, Christian Sillesen became country manager in edition 9, now the office.
Lunar gets two new co-CEOs
Gitte and Robert take over as co-CEOs of Lunar. Announced by Ken Villum Klausen on 2 October, who founded the bank and now watches from the sidelines.
SolvaPay named Best of New Entry at Nordic Fintech Week
Viggo Stenseth announced it on LinkedIn on 25 September. The award was given out during NFW 2026 in Copenhagen. SolvaPay was covered in edition 6.
Coming up
Sweden's Skatteverket on DAC8 reporting — Online, 15 October, 10:00–11:00. A webinar for companies running a trading venue or platform that enables crypto transactions, and which will have to file the new KU94 report: what to report, how and when, with questions taken in the chat. Free, in Swedish. Register →
Oslo Blockchain Meetup: Nexa — Universitetsgata 2, Oslo, 28 October, 17:00–19:00 CET. jQrgen, a member of Bitcoin Unlimited involved in the Nexa project, on what is unique about the Nexa blockchain, with a live tech demo. Free. Register →
Explore Onchain by Kaupr
Explore Onchain by Kaupr
Thanks for reading the tenth edition of Onchain Growth.
We're here to follow the industry and community driving onchain finance forward across the Nordics and Baltics.
Morten Founder & Editor, Kaupr