The Bitcoin success of the American MicroStrategy inspires more and more, now also Norwegian Ace Digital, which last Wednesday closed the books after having raised 50 MNOK. The plan is to go on the stock exchange in June or August, after an issue of another 200-300 MNOK.
Interest in the issue has been great. When the company approached the market a few weeks ago, its goal was to fetch a minimum of 30 MNOK.
Experienced people from the traditional Norwegian financial community are behind the initiative, both in the management, the board and the advisory board. (See separate article). We at Kaupr have spoken with CEO Alexander Hagen (left in the picture) and COO Håvard Lindstrøm (right). The management team also consists of CFO Mats Jensen.
What Ace Digital is going to do is about the same thing MicroStrategy has been doing for several years, namely buying Bitcoin and keeping Bitcoin on its balance sheet. Hagen and Lindstrøm consider that this model is very well adapted to traditional financial players who for several years have been characterized by what Hagen calls “touch anxiety” in relation to Bitcoin.
- We make the issue in a limited company, we list the stock on an exchange under public supervision, the shareholder register is in the VPS where the Tax Administration has full visibility and we will update the market on our Bitcoin holdings on an ongoing basis. It will thus be a company characterized by quality and transparency all the way,” says Lindstrøm, who adds: “The company will initially only buy Bitcoin and store Bitcoin safely with third parties. In addition, we will probe business opportunities otherwise in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The private placement of MNOK 50 has taken place via advice from Norne Securities. Selmer has been a legal adviser.
While Hagen has worked in equities and derivatives for a long career, Lindstrøm's background is primarily from the distribution of financial products. Both now have steel beliefs in Bitcoin. Alexander Hagen also already has more than 5 years of experience from trading and managing Bitcoin, first privately, then through a hedge fund and then through an unlisted company.
Aleksander Hagen emphasizes that interest in crypto in general and Bitcoin in particular has increased strongly in traditional financial environments over the past year, including in Norway. Only when Larry Fink, the head of one of the world's largest asset managers BlackRock, stepped in heavily and launched listed Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. Then when Donald Trump reversed his views on crypto, won the US presidential election and is now introducing crypto-friendly regulations. “Suddenly you have both economic and political power in Bitcoin,” Hagen comments.
But the one who impresses both Hagen and Lindstrøm the most is Michael Saylor, who, through his aggressive Bitcoin purchases, has multiplied the value of the company he leads, MicroStrategy (now Strategiy), and brought Strategy among America's most valuable publicly traded companies. Along the way, Strategy has systematically increased its holdings of Bitcoin, financed both through ongoing issues and borrowing. The company has been, and is, priced at between two and three times the underlying values of the company's Bitcoin holdings. “It's really amazing what Saylor has been able to do,” says Hagen who has also received congratulations from Saylor in connection with the creation of Ace Digital.
Strategy's business model, and the companies that buy Bitcoin through a listed limited liability company, have eventually acquired their own name, Bitcoin Treasury Company, and have seen the light of day both in Japan, France, Sweden and now in Norway.
- There will probably be more setups like ours in various packages, and we will help, says Hagen. - But one of our strengths is that we come from rock-solid finance, with compliance in the spinal cord. We should also be lean, with low costs and wages,” says Hagen. - It should be simple and transparent, only Bitcoin on the balance sheet, says Lindstrøm who is complemented by Hagen. - In many ways, this is a real estate company. We only own bitcoin instead of physical property.
The two are also not anxious that bitcoin may come to fluctuate a lot. -We have strong expertise and experience in derivatives trading, which I have worked with all my life. Via the options market, it is possible to limit the downside in Bitcoin, something we already have three years of experience with,” says Hagen who is of course aware that there is no guarantee for the future. “Once we get started, we must show ourselves worthy of trust and ability to deliver added value both when the Bitcoin price goes up and down. Only then can the company achieve a premium over the underlying Bitcoin values,” says Hagen. “The goal is for the stock to rise more than Bitcoin over time.
Although the company has now raised funds, Ace will most likely wait for the big Bitcoin purchases until the IPO and IPO are completed. The concrete management of the Bitcoin portfolio will be carried out by Alexander Hagen. K33 has been provisionally selected as crypto broker and custodial partner, based on their Fireblocks Vault solution.
Lindstrøm adds several arguments that the Ace Digital case will stand up: An advisory board with very skilled and experienced people, that institutional capital is entering crypto together with 550,000 Norwegians who already own crypto. - It will also be possible to reach a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins, so it will be difficult to get any particular dilution. And further down the track, banks will probably also join in, among other things, to gain increased control,” Lindstrøm says.
“There are still many who would think that Bitcoin is nonsense and that's really only good, because it gives us a unique position. And if you don't believe in Bitcoin, of course you shouldn't buy shares in Ace,” Hagen says.
ACE management has already had ongoing contact with Euronext Oslo Børs, and is aiming for an IPO and IPO in June, alternatively August. Ace is also in dialogue with several brokerages beyond Norne to participate as distributors in the planned IPO.
- We hope for both large fluctuations, high interest and lots of stock trading when we are listed, says Hagen, who also does not hide the company's long-term goals. - We are going into the OBX index and on the main list.
The Bitcoin success of the American MicroStrategy inspires more and more, now also Norwegian Ace Digital, which last Wednesday closed the books after having raised 50 MNOK. The plan is to go on the stock exchange in June or August, after an issue of another 200-300 MNOK.
Interest in the issue has been great. When the company approached the market a few weeks ago, its goal was to fetch a minimum of 30 MNOK.
Experienced people from the traditional Norwegian financial community are behind the initiative, both in the management, the board and the advisory board. (See separate article). We at Kaupr have spoken with CEO Alexander Hagen (left in the picture) and COO Håvard Lindstrøm (right). The management team also consists of CFO Mats Jensen.
What Ace Digital is going to do is about the same thing MicroStrategy has been doing for several years, namely buying Bitcoin and keeping Bitcoin on its balance sheet. Hagen and Lindstrøm consider that this model is very well adapted to traditional financial players who for several years have been characterized by what Hagen calls “touch anxiety” in relation to Bitcoin.
- We make the issue in a limited company, we list the stock on an exchange under public supervision, the shareholder register is in the VPS where the Tax Administration has full visibility and we will update the market on our Bitcoin holdings on an ongoing basis. It will thus be a company characterized by quality and transparency all the way,” says Lindstrøm, who adds: “The company will initially only buy Bitcoin and store Bitcoin safely with third parties. In addition, we will probe business opportunities otherwise in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The private placement of MNOK 50 has taken place via advice from Norne Securities. Selmer has been a legal adviser.
While Hagen has worked in equities and derivatives for a long career, Lindstrøm's background is primarily from the distribution of financial products. Both now have steel beliefs in Bitcoin. Alexander Hagen also already has more than 5 years of experience from trading and managing Bitcoin, first privately, then through a hedge fund and then through an unlisted company.
Aleksander Hagen emphasizes that interest in crypto in general and Bitcoin in particular has increased strongly in traditional financial environments over the past year, including in Norway. Only when Larry Fink, the head of one of the world's largest asset managers BlackRock, stepped in heavily and launched listed Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. Then when Donald Trump reversed his views on crypto, won the US presidential election and is now introducing crypto-friendly regulations. “Suddenly you have both economic and political power in Bitcoin,” Hagen comments.
But the one who impresses both Hagen and Lindstrøm the most is Michael Saylor, who, through his aggressive Bitcoin purchases, has multiplied the value of the company he leads, MicroStrategy (now Strategiy), and brought Strategy among America's most valuable publicly traded companies. Along the way, Strategy has systematically increased its holdings of Bitcoin, financed both through ongoing issues and borrowing. The company has been, and is, priced at between two and three times the underlying values of the company's Bitcoin holdings. “It's really amazing what Saylor has been able to do,” says Hagen who has also received congratulations from Saylor in connection with the creation of Ace Digital.
Strategy's business model, and the companies that buy Bitcoin through a listed limited liability company, have eventually acquired their own name, Bitcoin Treasury Company, and have seen the light of day both in Japan, France, Sweden and now in Norway.
- There will probably be more setups like ours in various packages, and we will help, says Hagen. - But one of our strengths is that we come from rock-solid finance, with compliance in the spinal cord. We should also be lean, with low costs and wages,” says Hagen. - It should be simple and transparent, only Bitcoin on the balance sheet, says Lindstrøm who is complemented by Hagen. - In many ways, this is a real estate company. We only own bitcoin instead of physical property.
The two are also not anxious that bitcoin may come to fluctuate a lot. -We have strong expertise and experience in derivatives trading, which I have worked with all my life. Via the options market, it is possible to limit the downside in Bitcoin, something we already have three years of experience with,” says Hagen who is of course aware that there is no guarantee for the future. “Once we get started, we must show ourselves worthy of trust and ability to deliver added value both when the Bitcoin price goes up and down. Only then can the company achieve a premium over the underlying Bitcoin values,” says Hagen. “The goal is for the stock to rise more than Bitcoin over time.
Although the company has now raised funds, Ace will most likely wait for the big Bitcoin purchases until the IPO and IPO are completed. The concrete management of the Bitcoin portfolio will be carried out by Alexander Hagen. K33 has been provisionally selected as crypto broker and custodial partner, based on their Fireblocks Vault solution.
Lindstrøm adds several arguments that the Ace Digital case will stand up: An advisory board with very skilled and experienced people, that institutional capital is entering crypto together with 550,000 Norwegians who already own crypto. - It will also be possible to reach a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins, so it will be difficult to get any particular dilution. And further down the track, banks will probably also join in, among other things, to gain increased control,” Lindstrøm says.
“There are still many who would think that Bitcoin is nonsense and that's really only good, because it gives us a unique position. And if you don't believe in Bitcoin, of course you shouldn't buy shares in Ace,” Hagen says.
ACE management has already had ongoing contact with Euronext Oslo Børs, and is aiming for an IPO and IPO in June, alternatively August. Ace is also in dialogue with several brokerages beyond Norne to participate as distributors in the planned IPO.
- We hope for both large fluctuations, high interest and lots of stock trading when we are listed, says Hagen, who also does not hide the company's long-term goals. - We are going into the OBX index and on the main list.
