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Fed shock, record metals and Kaupr TV sign‐ups – Monday, 12 January 2026

Your daily window into global moves shaping investments and payments in the Nordics

Author

Morten Myrstad
January 12, 2026

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Good morning – and welcome to your Friday briefing at the intersection of bitcoin, policy and Nordic digital finance. This first week of Kaupr Today has already tracked tradfi–crypto convergence through ETFs and treasuries, highlighted Nordic women shaping the ecosystem, and followed bitcoin’s New Year bounce as a backdrop to launches like Kaupr TV Live. This is your quick, curated daily window into the Nordic future of finance and the internet.

You’re receiving this because you’ve engaged with Kaupr Today; if it turns out this newsletter isn’t for you, you can unsubscribe at any time using the link in the footer.​

If you’re new to Kaupr Today or missed the first issues, you can jump straight into the latest editions from 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 January via the Kaupr Today home page.​

Welcome!
Morten

Powell says criminal threat is really about political pressure on Fed policy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell disclosed that the Department of Justice has served grand jury subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment tied to his June 2025 Senate testimony, nominally about a multi‑year renovation of historic Fed buildings. In a rare public statement, he framed the move as part of broader administration pressure, arguing the “pretext” is the renovation project but the real issue is the Fed’s refusal to set rates according to the President’s preferences.​

Why it matters: This is an unusually direct clash over central‑bank independence, and any perceived politicisation of rate‑setting will shape global risk premia, dollar liquidity and the macro backdrop that Nordic treasuries and allocators must price into bitcoin and digital‑asset strategies.​

Source: Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Bitcoin’s rally cools as markets digest Powell‑linked risks.

Bitcoin’s early‑January surge has slowed as traders weigh renewed political and legal risks around the Fed chair alongside still‑uncertain 2026 rate‑cut expectations. The Block reports that macro desks are now framing bitcoin’s move less as a clean liquidity trade and more as a barometer of how far the Trump administration is willing to go in pressuring the Fed.​

Why it matters: For Nordic allocators using bitcoin as a macro hedge, the story is shifting from “number go up on lower rates” to a more complex mix of political risk, dollar volatility and central‑bank credibility.​

Gold and silver hit new all‑time highs on safe‑haven flows and rate‑cut bets.

Spot gold has climbed to fresh record territory around the mid‑4,400s per ounce, extending a roughly 64–70% surge in 2025 as investors seek protection from geopolitical shocks, debt worries and a softer dollar. Silver has outperformed even more, with spot prices breaking above prior peaks in the high‑70s to low‑80s per ounce after a 140%‑plus run last year, driven by tight supply and strong industrial demand.​

Why it matters: For Nordic treasuries and multi‑asset allocators, this is a live referendum on the whole “reserve stack” – how to balance bitcoin, gold and cash when both monetary policy and Fed governance look unstable.​

Ethereum’s busy network meets a bored market

On‑chain activity on Ethereum and its Layer 2s is hitting strong levels, but ETH’s price has struggled to keep pace, trading roughly flat over the past week around the low‑3k area. Analysts point to cheaper transaction costs, rollup growth and infrastructure‑first investment as reasons why usage is decoupling from headline price moves.​

Why it matters: For Nordic builders and allocators, ETH’s current setup looks more like an infrastructure and fee‑cash‑flow story than a pure beta trade, influencing treasury mix between bitcoin and smart‑contract platforms.​

Source: Ethereum: Heavy Usage, Weak Price?, eToro Analyst Weekly.

Coinbase, GENIUS and the stablecoin rewards fight

Coinbase is warning U.S. lawmakers it may walk away from a major new digital‑asset market bill if last‑minute changes sharply restrict its ability to pay rewards to customers holding USDC and other stablecoins on its platform. The exchange argues any new rules should focus on transparency rather than outright bans or limits, while banks push to confine interest‑like rewards to licensed financial institutions, claiming stablecoin yields could drain deposits from community lenders.

Why it matters: For Nordic policy teams and stablecoin‑using fintechs, this is an early test of how far Washington will go in protecting bank funding models versus allowing exchange‑ and app‑level rewards that compete directly with deposits and savings products.

Goobit expands BTCX Express with Swish and pan‑European bank transfers.

Goobit has added Swish payments to its BTCX Express exchange, letting Swedish customers buy bitcoin using Swish alongside existing card and bank payment options. After being onboarded with a leading pan‑European account‑to‑account provider last fall, BTCX can now offer local payment methods and real‑time bank transfers in several EU markets as part of its MiCA‑aligned expansion strategy.

Why it matters: For Nordic retail users and neobanks, BTCX’s move shows how local rails like Swish, Vipps and MobilePay can be wired directly into bitcoin on‑ramps, tightening the link between everyday payments and reserve‑asset accumulation.

Nordic Blockchain Association hosts NGO‑focused blockchain workshop

On 29 January, the Nordic Blockchain Association will host an in‑person blockchain workshop in Copenhagen for selected NGOs together with UNDP AltFinLab, Stellar Development Foundation and ADVORA Law Firm. The program will cover concrete use cases such as donation tracking, low‑cost cross‑border payments, supply‑chain visibility and real‑time impact reporting, with live wallet demos, legal/compliance perspectives and facilitated breakouts.​

Why it matters: For Nordic civil‑society actors and public‑sector partners, this kind of practitioner‑level workshop is a glimpse of how on‑chain rails could support ESG documentation, humanitarian payments and trust‑building in the region’s broader digital‑finance stack.​

Over 230 have registered to Kaupr TV Live

Kaupr TV Live is quickly becoming a go‑to live slot for Nordics‑focused builders, professionals and investors who want real‑time context on bitcoin, digital assets and the future of finance from a Stockholm‑based studio. The launch episode will stream simultaneously to LinkedIn Live, YouTube and Kaupr, so people can watch from whichever platform fits best into their existing workflow.​

Join on Thursday 23 January 2026, 12:00–13:00 CET, when Morten Myrstad and co‑host Leon Aleksander Karlsen Solbakken dig into the early‑2026 macro and crypto backdrop and outline what to watch in the Nordic and European digital‑finance landscape. This is also where the first guest line‑up and themes for upcoming episodes are previewed, so being there live is the best way to plug into the format from day one.​

What to watch out for

The main macro backdrop this week is now dominated by questions around Fed independence and rate‑cut timing, after Powell’s statement cast the subpoenas as political pressure on monetary policy. That sits alongside one of the strongest safe‑haven rotations in decades, with gold and silver at record highs and bitcoin trading as a more politically sensitive macro hedge. At the same time, structural signals from ETF flows, U.S. market‑structure negotiations around stablecoins, Nordic on‑ramps like BTCX and NGO‑oriented on‑chain pilots in Copenhagen are rebuilding the financial rails underneath volatile spot moves.​

Why it matters: This mix of Fed politics, safe‑haven metals, bitcoin’s macro role, stablecoin rules and real‑world on‑chain experiments is the live stress‑test for how Nordic treasurers, allocators and fintech builders design their reserve stack and on‑chain risk in Q1​

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Thanks for reading – and feel free to reply with story tips, Nordic launches or people and projects that should be on the community’s radar. Forward today’s briefing to a colleague who watches bitcoin, policy and Nordic digital finance, and help grow this community at the edge of markets and the internet.

Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor