Welcome to Kaupr Today and Kaupr TV

Kaupr Today is a daily briefing on digital assets, fintech, and web3 with a strong Nordic lens. It brings concise, high‑signal updates on markets, products, companies, community initiatives, and standout content from Kaupr’s channels (including Kaupr TV and events) and leading regional players.

As a subscriber to the Unleash Event Calendar on Luma – you can here get direct access to the very first Kaupr TV episode. Kaupr Today will also be the newsletter where you can be informed about future Kaupr TV Live events, replays, video interviews and podcasts. If you do not want to receive Kaupr Today, you can easily unsubscribe in the footer.

In each edition of Kaupr Today, you can expect your daily window into global signals and Nordic moves reshaping markets, spanning everything from macro and regulation to bitcoin, Ethereum and other major tokens, tokenised markets, stablecoins, institutional adoption and regional ecosystem developments.​

Have a good read,
Morten

From Kaupr TV & Events

Kaupr TV went Live – Recordings from 23 January 2026 available

Kaupr TV Live on 23 January 2026 brought together Nordic voices to unpack the latest moves in digital assets, fintech and policy, with a focus on what institutional investors and builders should pay attention to this quarter. The session adds colour and context around the same themes covered in Kaupr Today, making it a useful replay for readers who prefer a live‑format deep dive. You can watch the replay here on YouTube. If you want to, you can first read a Linkedin post about the content and guests in the first show.

Source: Kaupr TV Live – 23 January 2026, Kaupr (LinkedIn).​

Macro, Fed week & challenge

Bitcoin slips below 88,000 dollars ahead of Fed week

Bitcoin slipped below 88,000 dollars as traders cut risk ahead of a pivotal Federal Reserve meeting and a heavy week of U.S. big‑tech earnings, after a strong run‑up driven by leverage and product inflows. The pullback has widened ranges and increased two‑way volatility as investors reassess macro risk, dollar strength and equity‑market sentiment going into the first FOMC of the year.

Why it matters: Bitcoin’s reaction to this week’s Fed signals and tech earnings will help clarify whether it is trading more as a macro risk asset tied to U.S. liquidity and growth expectations or as a resilient “digital gold” in a choppy market.

Source: Bitcoin Falls Below $88000 Amid Stock Market Decline, ForkLog.

Fed independence faces historic test under Trump–Powell showdown

Quartz reports that the Federal Reserve is facing one of the toughest challenges to its independence as President Donald Trump escalates pressure on chair Jerome Powell ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. Trump has publicly attacked Powell for not cutting rates faster, attempted to remove Governor Lisa Cook, and the Department of Justice has opened an unprecedented criminal probe into Powell that he calls politically motivated, even as Fed officials and former central bankers rally around the institution. A pending Supreme Court case over Cook’s removal could end up strengthening the Fed by setting a high bar for firing policymakers, effectively “Trump‑proofing” its monetary‑policy independence even as the current confrontation makes rate‑setting more politically fraught.​

Why it matters: A ruling that reinforces Fed independence would help anchor U.S. monetary credibility just as political pressure and legal probes reach new extremes, with direct implications for rates, the dollar and global risk appetite.​

Source: The Fed has never been tested like this. It could emerge stronger, Quartz.

Institutional adoption & banking narratives

Institutional crypto adoption has passed the “point of reversibility,” PwC says

PwC’s latest Global Crypto Regulation Report concludes that institutional involvement in crypto markets has crossed a threshold where it can no longer realistically be unwound. The report highlights growing use of stablecoins, tokenised cash and on‑chain settlement tools across banks, asset managers and payment firms, with digital assets increasingly embedded in payments, treasury and balance‑sheet operations rather than confined to trading venues. Once these systems sit inside core financial workflows, the operational and strategic cost of pulling them out becomes prohibitive, turning crypto into structural financial plumbing rather than a cyclical bet.

Why it matters: A Big Four firm framing institutional crypto adoption as effectively irreversible strengthens the case that digital assets, especially stablecoins and tokenised cash, are now part of mainstream financial infrastructure rather than a temporary speculative experiment.

Source: Institutional crypto adoption has passed the ‘point of reversibility,’ PwC says, The Block.

UBS CEO says blockchain is the future for traditional banking

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti told the World Economic Forum in Davos that blockchain is “the future for traditional banking” and that convergence between blockchain and conventional systems is now inevitable. His comments come as UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager, explores using the technology to modernise core infrastructure and cut costs across its global operations.

Why it matters: When CEOs of global firms like UBS and Fidelity describe blockchain as the future foundation of banking, it reinforces that tokenisation and on‑chain settlement are moving into the core of financial infrastructure, not staying at the experimental edge.

Source: UBS CEO: ‘Blockchain is the future for traditional banking’, Yahoo Finance

​Stock trading and stablecoins

Wall Street eyes 24/7, tokenised stock trading

Vanguard and other outlets report that Intercontinental Exchange, the NYSE’s parent, is developing a 24/7 trading platform that would use digital tokens mirroring listed shares, with instant settlement and the potential for Nasdaq to follow as early as this year, pending SEC approval. The initiative builds on rising off‑hours trading volumes and aims to attract younger retail investors, non‑US participants and crypto‑native traders who are used to around‑the‑clock markets, even as some institutions warn about thin liquidity, weekend risk and operational strain.

Why it matters: A shift to 24/7, tokenised equity trading would further blur the line between traditional markets and crypto market structure, normalising on‑chain settlement, stablecoin‑style funding and fractionalisation inside the core of U.S. equities infrastructure rather than at the periphery.

Source: Wall Street intends to stay open around the clock, Vanguard / Yahoo Finance.

Tether’s profits put stablecoins at the centre of global finance

Analysis cited by AInvest notes that Tether’s net profits have surged into the low‑teens billions of dollars a year, putting it in the same league as major Wall Street banks and giving it ample capital to invest in compliance, infrastructure and new product lines. USDT now controls around 60–65% of the stablecoin market, with a circulating supply well above 170 billion dollars, and Tether has become a significant buyer of U.S. Treasuries, reinforcing the link between crypto market liquidity and traditional fixed‑income markets.

Why it matters: Tether’s profitability and market share underline how dollar stablecoins have become systemically important liquidity rails for crypto trading, DeFi and cross‑border payments, meaning that shifts in USDT’s regulatory status or reserve strategy could have outsized effects on both digital‑asset markets and parts of the traditional financial system.

Source: Tether’s U.S. Expansion and the Future of Stablecoin Dominance, AInvest.

​Nordic policy, investors & community

Norwegian women are quietly closing the equity gap

AksjeNorge’s latest data show that women now make up 31.5% of retail shareholders on Oslo Børs, with 195,924 female investors who together still hold only 22.2% of total retail equity value. Over the past three years, women’s total equity wealth has grown 40% versus 29% for men, driven especially by women aged 30–54 and a steady inflow of new female investors arriving in almost the same numbers as men each year.

Why it matters: The data suggest that Norway’s long‑standing gender gap in equity participation is narrowing from the bottom up, with women not only joining the market in greater numbers but also growing their portfolios faster than men over time. A broader and more gender‑balanced retail investor base can improve household financial resilience, deepen local ownership in listed companies, and support a more diversified and stable investor structure on Oslo Børs.

Source: Årsrapport 2025 og data for 4. kvartal 2025 – Statistikk for privatpersoner som eier aksjer på Oslo Børs, AksjeNorge (Euronext Securities Oslo / Oslo Børs data).

Krypto Labs hits livestream no. 1000

Krypto Labs has reached livestream number 1000, marking a significant consistency milestone for one of the Nordic crypto community’s longest‑running livestream formats. Kaupr highlighted the occasion on LinkedIn to underline how sustained, open conversations have helped shape understanding of digital assets and Web3 across the region.

Why it matters: Community‑run formats hitting long‑run milestones show how much of the region’s crypto knowledge and trust is now built in open, recurring conversations rather than just in formal institutions.

Source: Livestream nr. 1000 med venner og kjente, Kaupr (LinkedIn).

Sweden’s blockchain industry report coming

Blockchain Sweden has promoted a national blockchain industry report that maps the Swedish ecosystem, from key companies and use cases to policy and regulatory questions. The initiative signals how industry groups are stepping up to provide policymakers and investors with structured insight into where Swedish blockchain development stands today.

Why it matters: A dedicated blockchain industry report gives Swedish regulators and investors a clearer factual basis for decisions on innovation support, regulation and capital allocation across the local Web3 stack.

Source: Blockchain Industry Report Sweden, Blockchain Sweden (LinkedIn).

What to watch for

Markets will be watching whether the Fed can prove it still runs on data rather than politics, and whether large investors treat the latest adoption signals as a reason to stay the course or an opportunity to quietly de‑risk into a softer macro backdrop.

Why it matters: That choice will decide if bitcoin and the wider crypto stack move closer to being a normal part of portfolio construction, or get pushed back into the bucket of trades you cut first when the cycle turns.

Stay with Kaupr Today

Thank you for reading Kaupr Today – feel free to forward this briefing to a colleague or reply with news tips and perspectives from across the Nordic and European digital‑finance ecosystem. Wishing you a great Monday, and welcome back tomorrow morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.​

Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor