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.” During the DNB Invest conference earlier this month, the Norwegian billionaire criticized Bitcoin for its excessive use of energy and went on to call it hostile. Bitcoin has witnessed massive growth this year, mostly driven by an increased institutional interest in the leading cryptocurrency.
Norwegian billionaire invested in the Norwegian crypto exchange Miraiex.
During a recent interview with a local media house, the Norwegian billionaire’s tone on Bitcoin changed drastically, especially after investing in the Norwegian crypto exchange Miraiex. During the interview, the Norwegian billionaire investor claimed that his stance on bitcoin changed 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.” 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.
Bitcoin’s massive bull run turns critics into believers.
The current Bitcoin 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 massive winning rally starting in the last quarter of 2020 has changed the mind of even the strongest critic today. Most of the traditional banks, including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which once called Bitcoin too volatile to be part of the financial system, are now offering Bitcoin services to their clients.
