Øystein Stray Spetalen, a Norwegian Billionaire investor has reportedly bought bitcoin as well as invested in the country’s largest Bitcoin exchange just weeks after deeming Bitcoin as “nonsense currency.” Spetalen during the DNB Invest conference on 18th March has criticized Bitcoin for its excessive use of energy and even called it hostile.

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However, during a recent interview with a local media house, Spetalen’s tone on Bitcoin changed drastically especially after investing in the Norwegian crypto exchange Miraiex. The billionaire investor claimed during the interview that his stance changed on Bitcoin after he met with the founders of the crypto exchange he has invested in. He added,

when I also read that Kjell Inge Røkke had gone into bitcoin, it was quite obvious. Can’t bear to see that Røkke makes money and not me, says Spetalen to Finansavisen.

Norwegian billionaire Øystein Stray Spetalen has bought #Bitcoin and a stake in Norway's largest crypto exchange according to local media https://t.co/TxuN0IyTT6

— Bloqport (@Bloqport) March 27, 2021

Miraiex Crypto Exchange claimed that it did not need any capital at the moment for its operations and the primary reason for their association was to aggressively expand its growth.

We did not really need money. We just wanted to grow faster

Prior to Spetalen’s investment in Bitcoin exchange Miraiex, another industrialist Kjell Inge Røkke launched the crypto company Seetee, which had also bought bitcoin for NOK 500 million recently.

Bitcoin’s Impressive Returns Lure Strongest Critics

Bitcoin this bull season has tripled its 2017 high of near $20K and is currently moving above $55K. After registering a 50% drop in a single day last year in March, many critics called it the end of the bubble and discarded it again. However, Bitcoin’s mammoth rise starting in the last quarter of 2020 has changed the mind of even the strongest critic today.

Most of the traditional banks including the likes of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs which once deemed Bitcoin too volatile to be part of the financial system are now offering Bitcoin services to their clients

About Author

Prashant Jha

An engineering graduate, Prashant focuses on UK and Indian markets. As a crypto-journalist, his interests lie in blockchain technology adoption across emerging economies.