There was no exchange party after K33 announced its Bitcoin Treasury strategy and brought in 60 MSEK. But could it be because the details are missing? We at Kaupr ask if the Bitcoin Treasury strategy brings K33 to the forefront of the “crypto-as-a-service” wave in Europe.
On X (Twitter), a photo that CEO Torbjørn Bull Jenssen has posted of himself jogging in the streets of Copenhagen has fuelled speculation among Twitter users about a deal or an expansion linked to the Bitcoin Treasury strategy. K33 does not have an operational office in Copenhagen. At the same time, the reaction in the stock market to K33's new strategy has so far been muted.
Unlike the rallies seen in most other treasury companies following such news, the price rally for K33's shares did not materialise. As Cryptonews writes: "K33's own stock reacted more subdued, falling nearly 2% on the day of the announcement. Market watchers will now be watching to see if the Bitcoin venture delivers long-term gains, both for the company's balance sheet and stock price." (Ed. note: the share price went up slightly at the end of the week, and is up 4.9% over the last 5 days.)
Other sources have commented that the absence of a rally may be due to a lack of detail on how the treasury strategy is actually to deliver operational gains. Kaupr has therefore taken a closer look at some of K33's opportunities in this area.
When K33 and Bull Jenssen announced the Bitcoin Treasury strategy, Bull Jenssen stressed that this was not just about accumulating Bitcoin as a long-term asset, but that Bitcoin on the balance sheet would be able to act as a "strategic enabler" for the business. He also stressed that a significant BTC reserve will strengthen K33's financial position, while opening up new revenue streams, product opportunities and institutional partnerships.
So what are K33's opportunities, both within the traditional brokerage business and within Crypto-as-a-Service:
K33's upcoming lending product is likely built on the Vanir Finance platform, which K33 acquired from Klein Group just over a year ago. That platform, combined with a solid Bitcoin holding, can enable BTC-backed loans and further financial product development.
Through the partnership with Stack by me, K33 is to provide crypto infrastructure for the Stack investment app. Bull Jenssen has repeatedly said that K33 is working to provide brokerage services to banks, neobanks and other Nordic exchange services as well. He has also said that K33 expects large future revenues from partnerships, and that over time the revenue from partnerships may be greater than the income from the brokerage's own trading volume. Is it Bitcoin on the balance sheet that is to make this type of deal take off?
In January, news came that the European Squash Federation (ESF) would become the first major European sports federation to adopt Bitcoin in its operations. K33 is assisting ESF with its Bitcoin strategy, providing both custody and exchange services in Bitcoin. Lately, an increasing number of international federations and clubs have shown interest in investing in Bitcoin.
K33 has also recently onboarded its first bank customer, a savings bank. The relationship is for now that of an ordinary client — the bank uses K33's platform for market insights and possible investments in digital assets — but it nonetheless marks an important milestone in institutional interest.
In addition, K33 works actively with other Bitcoin treasury companies in the Nordics, such as Ace Digital, where Bull Jenssen sits on the Advisory Board, and Finpeers, where K33 was one of the shareholders at the start-up of Finpeers. Together, these players can probably leverage their expertise and Bitcoin reserves to develop new products and exploit synergies in the region.
K33's strategy comes at a time when the market for digital assets is growing rapidly, and follows a broader trend of businesses adopting Bitcoin on their balance sheets. There are now many examples of treasury companies, some pure-play, others combining Bitcoin assets with operations in hotels, media and software. But based on our research, K33 stands out as one of the first crypto brokers to make treasury a core part of operations rather than a passive investment.
We will see whether the stock market comes to appreciate the new strategy more, as further details and new deals eventually see the light of day.
If you want to see and hear how Bull Jenssen commented on the news, watch our video interview with him below. The interview is in Norwegian.
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