Christian Ander tells Svenska Dagbladet that the MiCA rejection was a major disappointment after two years of preparation, but is now considering an appeal, reapplying, winding down – or applying in Norway, which he believes has lower requirements.
Svenska Dagbladet reports that three of four Swedish crypto exchanges have been rejected by Finansinspektionen. Only Safello is among the four Swedish companies to have had its MiCA application approved, while 77 companies have been authorised in other EU countries and can therefore offer crypto services to Swedish consumers. Goobit, the company behind BTCX, was the last to receive its decision.
Christian Ander tells Svenska Dagbladet: "The initial thought was of course a great disappointment." He points out that the company has worked hard for two years to demonstrate it was ready for MiCA.
According to Svenska Dagbladet, Goobit is now weighing its options: shutting down the business, appealing the decision, reapplying, or turning to Norway. Ander himself says he believes an application in Norway would have gone through, describing the Norwegian requirement level as "a lower bar" — an assessment that is his own, not confirmed by Kaupr or Norwegian authorities. Norway has five crypto exchanges with MiCA authorisation: Firi, NBX, Bare Bitcoin, K33 and TÝR Markets, while Bitmynt chose not to apply and JuJu instead struck a deal with NBX for its 4,000 customers.
Despite the rejection, Ander says he views Finansinspektionen's strict requirements positively, and believes it shows the Swedish regulator holds bitcoin and crypto to standards as high as the company's own. He compares FI's approach to security with the company's own, describing both as "paranoid."
According to Svenska Dagbladet, Goobit received a sanction fee of two million Swedish kronor from Finansinspektionen in 2023 for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering work — the same type of deficiency now part of the grounds for the MiCA rejection. Confronted with this, Ander says that staying on top of compliance is a constantly moving target, that MiCA is an entirely new regulation, and that it is a matter of judgment where different countries do things their own way.
Sources: Svenska Dagbladet, Finansinspektionen, Kaupr
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