Nine days ago, billionaire investor Øystein Stray Spetalen used his platform at the DNB Invest conference to denounce Bitcoin as a "nonsense currency." Now he's not only bought his flagship coin, but also invested in Norway's largest Bitcoin exchange MiraiEx. A quick turn of phrase In a video interview at the GNI conference on March 18, Spetalen expressed his concerns about Bitcoin's carbon footprint: Bitcoin today consumes as much energy as all of Norway. It is extremely environmentally unfriendly. The authorities and the EU should ban it immediately. Then you would significantly reduce CO2 emissions. This is simply nonsense. We are doing fine with the payment systems that are in place today. However, in a recent interview with Finansavisen, Spetalen unexpectedly claimed to be a co-owner of the Norwegian cryptocurrency exchange MiraiEx: When the facts change, I change. I met with the founders of MiraiEx, Thuc and Øyvind, the day after recording the podcast, in early March. I realized that I was in the wrong. And when I read that [industrial magnate and Norwegian billionaire] Kjell Inge Røkke had gotten into Bitcoin, it was pretty obvious. I can't stand the fact that Røkke is making money and not me. - Spetalen said, in a fit of billionaire FOMO. Spetalen has less than Røkke In early March, Kjell Inge Røkke, who sowed himself as the largest shareholder in offshore fishing, engineering and construction company Aker ASA, launched Seetee as Aker ASA's cryptocurrency trading subsidiary. Its initial purchase was worth 500 million Norwegian kroner. Spetalen admitted to Finansavisen that he also bought Bitcoin, but owns less than Røkke. He also currently joins the board of MiraiEx exchange. In December, it raised NOK 5 million in an investment round led by venture capital firm Skyfall Ventures. Like Spetalen, Norway itself has given mixed signals on Bitcoin. On Tuesday, Oystein Olsen, governor of Norges Bank, echoed Spetalen's earlier stance. He called Bitcoin "too resource-intensive" and "too expensive" to replace cash in a country that is largely cashless. On the other hand, every Norwegian citizen has a nominal stake of 26,720 satoshi, or just over $15, in Bitcoin. This is all thanks to the government pension fund buying shares in institutional Bitcoin-raising companies such as Tesla, MicroStrategy and Square. Øystein Stray Spetalen has officially beaten Tesla CEO Elon Musk for the title of fastest ROI in cryptocurrency history. Tags Aker SA billionaire Norway Spetalen whales
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