At its first major Oslo event, in collaboration with Nordnet, Swedish Virtune presented itself to over 250 Norwegian investors. Virtune will make it as easy to own Bitcoin as owning a stock on a stock exchange, using regulated, exchange-traded products.
CEO Christopher Kock believes a more mature market, regulated ETP structures and growing institutional demand mean that crypto is finally ready for the breadth of Norwegian savers — even after a sharp price drop in Bitcoin. According to Kock, exchange-traded crypto products will lower the threshold for Norwegians who want crypto exposure without having to deal with exchanges, keys and wallets.
Virtune is a Swedish-regulated asset manager that issues crypto ETPs listed on regulated exchanges, allowing investors to buy crypto exposure via the same platforms they already use for stocks and funds. The products provide exposure to single assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also broader indices and altcoins, without investors having to deal with their own wallets or crypto exchanges. For Norwegian savers who are used to trading through Nordnet, crypto thus becomes a new choice in a familiar and regulated framework.
According to Kock, one of the biggest changes is that the investor mass has become more sophisticated, both among private individuals and institutions. Many have learned that Bitcoin does not disappear, even through sharp price drops, and now use lows as buying opportunities rather than as an end point. At the Oslo event, the hall was filled with Private Banking customers of Nordnet, who largely belong to this broader category — investors who primarily know stocks and funds, but who want an easy way to add crypto to their portfolio.
According to the Nordic Crypto Adoption Survey, Sweden is far ahead of Norway in the use of crypto ETPs. One explanation is that Swedish investors have been accustomed to such products for a long time, and have had structures such as the ISK-wrapper in place. However, Kock believes that interest in Norway will rise to a higher level as more people become aware of the existence of these products and what they actually mean. He points to the need for more education about what crypto assets are, what roles they can play in the financial system, and how regulation and macroeconomics affect prices.
Although the market has recently been through a period of weak development and falls in the Bitcoin exchange rate, Kock describes the fundamental conditions as stronger than ever. More states, institutions and professional investors have begun accumulating digital assets, while tightening regulation and providing greater predictability. Many in the market are still looking toward 2026 as a possible “year of judgment” for whether the historic four-year cycles in crypto will repeat themselves, or whether increased regulation, stablecoins, and institutional participation will smooth out the most extreme fluctuations.
For Virtune, the Oslo event is the start, not the end, of the venture in Norway. The company plans several events and activities aimed at Norwegian investors, with the ambition to become a bridge between traditional savings and the new crypto economy. The aim is for Norwegian Nordnet customers to be able to take part in this development in a regulated, simple and recognizable way.
00:00 Introduction to Virtune
00:52 Growth in ETPs and ETFs
01:34 Tough crypto market right now
02:20 New and different crypto investors
03:18 Differences between Sweden and Norway
04:02 Good time to enter Bitcoin?
04:58 Macro trends affecting crypto
05:53 Klarna launches a stablecoin
06:40 Virtune more visible in Norway
