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Welcome to Kaupr Today

Good morning! Crypto is trading in the shadow of tougher US signals and Europe’s regulatory maze today, even as builders keep pushing new payment rails and communication playbooks.

Over the next few weeks, we’re following Nordic blockchain up close – from the next Kaupr TV Live on 27 February to Blockchain Sweden’s new 2025 industry report launch in March, both shaping how Sweden and the region set their Web3 agenda.

Have a good read,
Morten

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US and Europe, policy, markets & innovation

Bitcoin sinks as Treasury Secretary warns on crypto risks

Bitcoin fell after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent again warned that cryptocurrencies pose risks to financial stability, investor protection, and illicit finance, renewing calls for tighter regulation and new legislation, especially for stablecoins and major trading platforms. Her remarks, consistent with earlier skepticism about bitcoin’s volatility and its role in money laundering, added to market nerves and helped trigger a broader sell‑off even as she acknowledged that digital assets could contribute to a more efficient financial system under clear rules.

Why it matters: Stronger oversight signals from the Treasury tend to hit crypto prices in the short term but can also accelerate the shift toward a more regulated market structure, favoring compliant, institutional‑grade players over speculative or lightly supervised actors.

Source: Bitcoin sinks as Treasury Secretary warns on crypto risks

CFTC chief backs prediction markets in clash with Nevada and other states

NBC News reports that CFTC Chair Michael Selig has stepped into a high‑stakes legal battle over prediction markets, filing an amicus brief backing Crypto.com against Nevada regulators and arguing that these platforms fall under federal derivatives oversight rather than state gambling law. Selig warns that a “wave” of state lawsuits and cease‑and‑desist orders risks undermining the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction just as regulated prediction markets see record volumes, including more than $1 billion in Super Bowl contracts.​

Why it matters: The intervention signals that the Trump‑era CFTC is prepared to fight states over who regulates fast‑growing event‑contract platforms, a precedent that could shape not only prediction markets but how future financial products are classified as either gambling or federally supervised derivatives.

Source: CFTC chief sides with prediction markets over state regulators in a legal battle with big implications, NBC News

Europe’s digital problem is not innovation – it is regulatory architecture

An opinion piece in Euractiv argues that Europe’s core digital weakness is not a lack of ideas, talent, or startups, but a fragmented and overly complex regulatory architecture that makes it hard to scale digital businesses across the EU. The author points to overlapping rules, divergent enforcement, and a maze of national regulators as key reasons why European digital firms struggle to grow compared with rivals in the US and Asia, and calls for a more coherent, streamlined framework that still protects citizens but gives companies clearer, more predictable conditions for growth.

Why it matters: The analysis suggests that Europe’s competitiveness problem in AI, platforms, and digital infrastructure is increasingly about regulatory design and coordination, not innovation capacity, and that fixing the “plumbing” of EU digital regulation may be as important as any new funding or industrial strategy.

Source: Europe’s digital problem is not innovation – it is regulatory architecture, Euractiv.

Some leader advice: AI effect & press releases

AI is coming for white‑collar jobs – but an AI ‘godfather’ still wants his grandson to go to college

Business Insider reports that Yoshua Bengio, one of the “godfathers of AI,” says he would still encourage his four‑year‑old grandson to go to college, even as AI increasingly automates white‑collar work and erodes the career premium of traditional degrees. Bengio argues that education is “mostly about how to become a better human being” and to understand yourself and society, not just about acquiring job skills, and notes that this human dimension will remain important even if machines can do most tasks.​

Why it matters: The piece reframes higher education in an AI era as less of a job‑training guarantee and more of a foundation for judgment, ethics, and social understanding, suggesting that the real moat for future workers will be how they use AI and make decisions, not the credential alone.

Source: AI is coming for white collar jobs — but a godfather of AI still wants his grandson to go to college, Business Insider.

Kill the press release – a16z calls time on a legacy PR ritual

An a16z crypto piece argues that the traditional press release has outlived its usefulness for tech and crypto companies, calling it a legacy artifact optimized for wire services and outdated media cycles rather than how people actually discover and understand news today. The authors push for company communications built around explainers, FAQs, founder letters, and direct‑to‑audience channels that offer more context, transparency, and narrative than a templated one‑pager ever can.

Why it matters: The argument reflects a broader shift in how high‑growth startups and crypto projects communicate with users, developers, and regulators – prioritizing depth, clarity, and owned channels over generic announcements that generate little trust or engagement.

Source: Kill the press release, a16z crypto

Bitcoin Lightning & Payments in Europe

Strong volume growth on Lightning despite lower activity

A new analysis shows that the Bitcoin Lightning Network has passed roughly 1.1 billion dollars in monthly payment volume, with routed transaction value climbing even as public capacity and node counts look flat or slightly down. Researchers argue this reflects consolidation into larger, better‑managed nodes and more efficient use of liquidity, meaning fewer visible channels but more real economic activity flowing through Lightning for merchant payments, remittances, and app‑driven microtransactions.

Why it matters: The numbers suggest Lightning is quietly maturing from an experimental overlay into real payment infrastructure, where headline network metrics understate how much value is actually being settled off‑chain.

Source: Strong volume growth on Lightning despite lower activity, Bitcoin.se

OKX snags European payments license for stablecoin and crypto card expansion

Crypto exchange OKX has secured a Payment Institution (PI) license in Malta, allowing it to keep offering stablecoin-based payment services and crypto cards across the EU under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the updated Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The license underpins products like OKX Pay and the OKX Card, launched with Mastercard, and positions OKX ahead of many rivals as stablecoins used for payments are formally treated as electronic money tokens that require PI or Electronic Money Institution authorization.​

Why it matters: As MiCA’s stablecoin rules fully kick in by March 2026, only exchanges with the right licenses will be able to support compliant, real‑world stablecoin payments, meaning OKX’s move could accelerate everyday use of stablecoins in European retail, e‑commerce, and card payments while raising the regulatory bar for competitors.​​

Source: OKX snags European payments license for stablecoin and crypto card expansion, CoinDesk.

Nordic web3 events and Sweden insight

Kaupr TV Live – Nordic News & Guests – 27 February 2026

On Friday 27 February 2026, 12:00–13:00 CET, Kaupr TV Live returns from the Stockholm studio with a new live show for investors, professionals, and builders who want real signal and insight in the digital economy. Hosted by Morten Myrstad with co‑host Leon Aleksander Karlsen Solbakken, the show brings news, interviews, and conversations with guests from the Nordic and European Web3 and digital‑finance ecosystem, streamed live on LinkedIn Live, YouTube, and Kaupr TV.

Why it matters: Kaupr TV Live is becoming a central meeting point for the Nordic future‑of‑finance community, connecting Kaupr’s news, newsletters, and events with a live format that lets viewers follow key trends, regulatory shifts, and product launches as they happen.​​

Source: Kaupr TV Live – Nordic News & Guests – 27 February 2026, Kaupr on LinkedIn.

How is the Swedish blockchain industry doing? New 2025 industry report to be launched in March

Blockchain Sweden announces that it will present its 2025 industry report “How is the Swedish blockchain industry doing?” at Redeye in Stockholm on 10 March, offering a snapshot of how Swedish blockchain and Web3 companies see the business climate, regulation, and growth prospects going into 2026. The report follows up on the association’s earlier mapping of the sector, covering issues like access to banking, regulatory uncertainty under MiCA, tax complexity, and the opportunities for Sweden to position itself as a leading blockchain hub despite today’s headwinds.

Why it matters: The initiative shows how Sweden’s blockchain industry is organizing to speak with a common voice on policy and framework conditions, at a time when talent and technical maturity are strong but many companies still consider moving abroad due to banking, regulatory, and tax barriers.

Source: How is the Swedish blockchain industry doing? Industry report 2025 launch announcement, Blockchain Sweden on LinkedIn

The Quiet Evolution: Sweden’s Blockchain Journey

In a LinkedIn essay, Henrik Beyer argues that Sweden’s blockchain journey is more “quiet evolution” than revolution: the country has strong tech, equality, and transparency traditions, but lags Nordic neighbors in Web3 adoption due to cautious regulation, limited public support, and a narrow focus on Bitcoin. Drawing on data from the 2025 Crypto Adoption Report by K33, Nordic Blockchain Association, and Kaupr, he notes that Swedish crypto ownership has only inched up from 6.7% to 7.4%, while Norway and Finland are pulling ahead, and calls for more human‑centric, education‑driven initiatives plus a broader embrace of Web3 beyond pure finance.

Why it matters: The piece frames Sweden as a country with all the ingredients to lead in Web3, but which risks falling behind unless policymakers, industry groups, and communities work together to turn its values of trust and transparency into an active blockchain strategy instead of a passive, wait‑and‑see stance.

Source: The Quiet Evolution: Sweden’s Blockchain Journey, LinkedIn article by Henrik Beyer

What to watch for in the Nordics

This spring will be busy for Nordic future‑of‑finance: beyond Kaupr TV Live on 27 February and Blockchain Sweden’s 2025 industry report launch in March, keep an eye on Stockholm Fintech Week on 18–19 March – now positioning itself as a key meeting place for banks, fintechs, regulators and investors in the region – plus a wave of digital‑assets and blockchain conferences culminating in the Nordic Blockchain Conference in Stockholm on 26–27 May. These gatherings are where the Nordics’ next phase of digital finance and Web3 is effectively negotiated in real time – on stage, in side‑meetings, and in the corridors – as regulators, incumbents and crypto natives finally sit in the same rooms.

Why it matters: Together, these events turn abstract debates about MiCA, AI, blockchain and payments into concrete products, partnerships and market signals that will shape how quickly Web3, stablecoins and new rails move from pilots to everyday use in the Nordic markets.

Share Kaupr Today

Thank you for reading Kaupr Today. If you find this briefing useful, please share it with a colleague or friend who should be following Nordic and European digital‑finance news more closely. Wishing you a great Friday — and welcome back on Monday morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.

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Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor