Norwegian bank investment in crypto exchange
According to Coindesk, a Norwegian savings bank dating back to the mid-1800s has just invested in a cryptocurrency exchange set up by local business magnate Bjørn Kjos.
A press release posted on the Oslo Stock Exchange announced that Sparebanken Øst had taken a 16.3 percent stake in Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) for 15 million Norwegian krone (around $1.638 million).
The development of NBX was announced in April last year after being founded by Kjos and his family. It appears to be very much a family run business, with Bjorn’s son Lars Ola Kjos, a known bitcoin supporter, also involved in setting up the company, while his son-in-law, Stig Aleksander Kjos-Mathisen, is running the platform.
Airline tickets paid for with crypto?
Bjørn Kjos is the founder and former CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle, the top Scandinavian airline, with a big customer base across Europe. It is expected that the airline may tie up with NBX to offer cryptocurrency payments for flight tickets.
In its investment announcement, Sparebanken Øst said: “Possible collaboration with the airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, a key player with NBX, could be a platform for launching new solutions on a mass scale, and the bank sees great market potential both nationally and internationally.”
The bank added that, in backing in NBX, the exchange “will offer solutions that will equip the bank to manage competition and future-oriented solutions for its customers.”
