Welcome to another edition of the Future of Finance newsletter — and a special welcome to the 40 new subscribers who joined us in the last 24 hours!

At Kaupr, we believe we are at a pivotal moment between traditional and emerging finance. To better cover this transformation for professionals in classical finance, fintech, and crypto, we will be increasing the frequency of this newsletter.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to fresh news, insights, event recordings, and podcast episodes on topics such as tokenization, payments, stablecoins, MiCA regulation, Bitcoin treasury companies, and much more.

We will also revisit stories previously published on kaupr.io, our social media channels, or our YouTube channel when we believe they are crucial to understanding the evolution of this space and industry.

Going forward, we will primarily publish this newsletter in English to be as inclusive as possible across the Nordics and beyond. However, the articles referenced on the Kaupr news site are also available in Norwegian and Swedish, with Danish coming soon.

If you’re subscribed to our more general newsletter, Next by Kaupr, we encourage you to continue your subscription. However, for in-depth financial news and insights, this is the newsletter to follow.

We aim to make it as easy as possible for you to find and consume our content, while also pointing you to additional sources for more in-depth information. Please share your feedback and suggestions as we move forward!

Enjoy your reading,
Morten

We are pleased to announce that K33 is the sponsor of this edition of the Future of Finance newsletter.

K33 is a key player in the Nordic blockchain and Web3 space, actively collaborating with industry leaders to drive innovation and growth. We’re proud to have their support as we continue to deliver valuable insights and news to our readers.

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K33, listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market, sets a new gold standard for investments in digital assets. We built K33 to offer investors something better—a new benchmark for buying, selling, and holding crypto. K33 provides market-leading execution, actionable insights, and superior support to private clients and institutional partners across EMEA.

Under this title, we will cover industry news and trends — even if they haven’t reached the Nordics yet, and even if we haven’t had time to create a reference article on our news site. As always, we strive to provide context, enabling you to assess the significance of the news for yourself—whether you are a builder, a leader, or an investor.

Europe Becomes a Battleground for Crypto Exchanges

With MiCA now being implemented across Europe, competition among global, European, and local crypto exchanges is intensifying. Bybit has recently launched its MiCAR-compliant platform for European users, while Coinbase and Kraken have also secured their MiCA licenses.

With a MiCA license obtained in one EU or EEA country, a crypto company can "passport" its license to all other EU and EEA countries, allowing it to operate across a market of approximately 450 million people.

Below is a brief overview of the most important global crypto companies and their approved licenses.

• Bitpanda - Exchange - licensed in Austria and Germany

• Bitvavo - Exchange, custody - licensed in Netherlands

• Bybit EU - Exchange, derivatives, staking, licensed in Austria

• Coinbase - Exchange, custody - licensed in Luxembourg

• Crypto com - Exchange - licensed in Malta

• eToro - Multi-asset platform - licensed in Cyprus

• Kraken - Exchange, brokerage, payments, derivatives - licensed in Ireland

• OKX - Exchange, staking, earn, trading bots, licensed in Malta

• Robinhood - Crypto custody, administration, transfer, brokerage - licensed in LithuaniaCommerce and payments

OKX opened the Nordic crypto race powered by MiCA

The global crypto exchange OKX, with over 5,000 employees, has kicked off the Nordic crypto race with an official Nordic launch in Stockholm on June 17. In parallel, OKX have been in the process of putting in place local growth teams in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The official launch took place in the form of a side event during the Nordic Blockchain Conference in Stockholme June 17-18. OKX describes itself as one of the world's leading digital asset exchanges, measured by trading volume, and with 60 million customers in over 100 countries.

This move marks the first major entry by a global crypto giant into the Nordic market following the implementation of the EU’s new MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation.

Shopify Revolutionized Global Commerce with USDC Integration on Base Network

Shopify’s partnership with Coinbase and Stripe to support USDC payments is a major step for crypto, making stablecoin transactions available to millions of merchants and showing digital currencies are ready for daily business use.

E-commerce powerhouse Shopify has unveiled its most significant cryptocurrency initiative to date, partnering with Coinbase and Stripe to integrate USDC stablecoin payments directly into Shopify Payments and Shop Pay. The integration, which launched in early access i midten av juni, enables millions of merchants worldwide to accept Circle's USDC token on Coinbase's Base network without requiring additional integrations or payment gateways.

Stripe acquires Privy to strengthen integration between crypto and fiat

Paying giant Stripe has announced that it will buy crypto infrastructure company Privy. Dit goal is to eliminate friction between crypto- and fiat-based payment systems and strengthen its position in the payment landscape of the future.

Privy, the fast-growing embedded wallet infrastructure company powers more than 75 million crypto accounts and supports over 1,000 developer teams globally. The deal will see Privy continue operating as an independent product under Stripe's umbrella. 

Firi delivers its best ever result

crypto platform Firi AS is delivering a very strong 2024 with a record operating profit and significant growth in both revenue and customer funds. The company reports a profit after tax of NOK 134.9 million.

In 2023, Firi had a negative result of 12.6 million in 2023.

- 2024 was a breakthrough year for Firi. We are very proud to deliver such a strong result in a market that is still characterized by fluctuations and regulatory complexity. It shows that Firi has established one as a crypto exchange for most people,” says Thuc Tuan Hoang, general manager and co-founder of Firi AS.

Safello bets on partnerships to build next-generation crypto platform

Swedish crypto exchange Safello has entered into a series of high-profile partnerships in 2025 that signal the company's ambitions to move beyond traditional brokerage services and establish itself as a complete, regulated crypto platform.

These partnerships span the area of liquidity, trading infrastructure, sustainability and regulated investment products. The partnerships should strengthen Safello's vision of becoming a next-generation crypto bank, according to CEO Emelie Moritz.

Events — whether live, personal, organized by Kaupr, or hosted by other entities — are central to the lifeblood of a modern media company. In addition to attending events and reporting from them on social media, we also aim to summarize and present highlights that are especially relevant to the future of finance.

This time, we bring you insights from the Nordic Blockchain Conference in Stockholm, held on June 18–19, 2025.

You can find even more stories on the special event page we have created.

We've passed the tipping point to institutionalization — Sal Ternullo in Stockholm

We’ve passed the tipping point of institutionalization — but not without pain. Sal Ternullo of A100x Ventures, the main keynote speaker at the Nordic Blockchain Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, shared his insights on this transition.

Morten Myrstad from Kaupr took the opportunity to interview Ternullo during the conference, discussing the institutionalization of crypto, Bitcoin, stablecoins, and tokenization.

Their conversation touched on regulatory barriers, key developments over the past 18 months, and how institutional adoption is now taking hold across various sectors. They also explored the current state of play in Europe and the Nordics.

You can also watch the interview on our YouTube Channel.

Building trust and transparency in an uncertain world

In a world marked by uncertainty, trust and transparency are more crucial than ever. Blockchain technology offers solutions, and Jakob Mikkel Hansen, CEO of NBA, believes the Nordics have a unique role to play in advancing these values.

We are interviewing Hansen in connection with the Nordic Blockchain Conference, a major event organized by the Nordic Blockchain Association (NBA) taking place in Stockholm on June 18–19.

Jakob Mikkel Hansen emphasizes that the core Nordic values of stability and innovation, combined with a clear regulatority framework, provide fertile ground for a thriving blockchain industry in the Nordics.

You can also watch the interview on the Kaupr Media YouTube channel.

From time to time, the Future of Finance newsletter will focus on a special topic or segment where the news cycle is particularly active and where Kaupr has been closely following developments. Right now, the hottest topic is Bitcoin Treasury Companies, with many Nordic players positioning themselves as early movers and innovators.

To make it easier to follow this trend, we have created a dedicated landing page for all our news stories and interviews related to this topic, titled Treasury Companies and Strategies.

Swedish Bitcoin company headed for stock exchange

Swedish Treasury company Bitcoin Treasury Capital expects to be listed with the ticker BTC on the Spotlight Stock Market in Sweden this week after bringing in 150 MSEK and making its first Bitcoin purchases.

Swedish Treasury company Bitcoin Treasury Capital expects to be listed with the ticker BTC on the Spotlight Stock Market in Sweden this week after bringing in 150 MSEK and making its first Bitcoin purchases.

The company and its chairman Christoffer De Geer (pictured) in many ways ushered in the Treasury wave in the Nordic region when they announced their plans in April, including in a video interview with Kaupr. At the same time, it is obvious that behind the scenes there are many who have been working on plans to implement a Strategy-like model in the Nordic countries, inspired by Michael Saylor.

Photo: Morten Brun

The Saylor Effect: Companies Worldwide Embrace Bitcoin as a Financial Asset

A revolution is underway in the world of corporate finance. What started as an audacious move by a single tech executive has evolved into a legitimate corporate strategy that's reshaping how businesses approach treasury management.

What began as MicroStrategy's solo journey has evolved into a movement among companies. More businesses around the world are now implementing variations of the “Saylor strategy,” in which each individual adapts the approach to their specific circumstances, business and financing models, and, of course, their own risk tolerance.

In this article, we explore the core principles behind the strategy and highlight how a wide range of global companies are developing their own versions, inspired by Michael Saylor's pioneering approach.

We also recommend you to read our first Michael Saylor feature; The Bitcoin Missionary Who Bets Everything.

That’s a wrap for this edition of the Future of Finance newsletter. We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions on topics you’d like us to cover next. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an update!

Morten