Despite a decline in trading volume in the fourth quarter, significant one-off costs and a leadership change at the top, Swedish GreenMerc is sticking to its ambition of becoming a modern, regulated niche bank that bridges crypto and traditional finance
At the same time as last year’s results were released earlier in February, GreenMerc also announced that co-founder Ari Liukko (left in the picture) had taken over as CEO from Arvid Börje Ramberg (right).
GreenMerc, which is the parent company of crypto exchanges Trijo in Sweden and Northcrypto in Finland, among others, ended 2025 with solid year-on-year growth in net revenue, but also a marked drop in trading volume and weaker profitability in the fourth quarter. Trading volume in the fourth quarter fell sharply, from around SEK 380 million to SEK 136 million, while one-off costs related to, among other things, EU regulations MiCA, new payment infrastructure, crowdfunding efforts — and a hacker attack against subsidiary Trijo amounting to SEK 7.8 million — put pressure on results.
Statements from both Liukko and Ramberg in connection with the leadership change indicate that they are united behind GreenMERC's strategy to develop the company into a modern, regulated niche bank. Whether Liukko will continue Ramberg's stated acquisition strategy is unclear.
Both also emphasize that 2025 has been a particularly eventful year, with a MICA license for Finnish subsidiary Northcrypto, the launch of a crowdfunding platform and continued development of infrastructure to enable GreenMerc to offer more bank-like, regulated financial services.
Outgoing CEO Arvid Börje Ramberg describes 2025 as an eventful and strategically important year, in which the Group has both increased revenues and laid a new foundation through significant investments in compliance, safety and product development. He stresses that much of the cost increase is of a one-off nature and that GreenMerc is now entering a phase where the company can begin to “reap the fruits” of its investments, with clearer revenue opportunities beyond 2026.
Liukko, for his part, comes in with a background as an entrepreneur and executive from several listed technology and financial companies, highlighting that the platform built under Ramberg's leadership provides a good starting point for the next phase. The Board of Directors signals that the change of leadership will both ensure continuity and give new impetus to further expansion, new products and a strengthened market position in regulated digital financial services.
According to the company, large parts of the costs associated with the strategic moves have already been taken, which will allow GreenMerc to more broadly direct its gaze forward towards scaling, new services and more predictable earnings. That four executives and insiders -- including Ari Liukko -- have recently bought shares in the company can also be interpreted as a signal that management has faith in the long-term direction.
For investors and industry players, the key question now becomes whether GreenMerc manages to translate the heavy investment phase and niche banking ambition into stable growth and profitability in a more regulated European crypto market.