Welcome to Kaupr Today

Good morning. This edition zooms in on Sweden’s accelerating future‑of‑finance story, a packed Nordic event calendar, and BitGo’s rise as a Wall Street M&A target — alongside fresh signals from Asia’s crypto rails, AI‑driven payment and infrastructure shifts, and TradFi’s deepening move into regulated digital assets

Have a good read,
Morten

Asia risk pulse, AI jitters and “crypto winter”

Asia stocks edge higher as AI jitters and Middle East risk linger

The CNBC piece says Asian markets rose modestly even as investors remained wary about expensive AI‑driven tech stocks and watched Middle East tensions after US‑Iran talks, while oil prices eased on hopes the diplomacy might limit further escalation. It also notes that the move higher in equities came on relatively thin volumes, suggesting sentiment is cautious rather than euphoric.

Why it matters: The article frames the day’s bounce in Asia as a fragile risk‑on move, with AI valuations and geopolitical risk still key overhangs for global markets.

Source: Asia stocks rise despite lingering AI worries, oil down after US‑Iran talks, CNBC.

‘Crypto winter’ shows up in broker earnings, not on‑chain

CryptoSlate argues that “crypto winter” is clearer in broker profits than on‑chain data, highlighting sharp drops in Robinhood and Coinbase trading revenues even as on‑chain activity and ETF‑driven flows stay relatively busy. The piece contends that casual retail is retreating from trading apps, pushing platforms to rely more on recurring revenues such as interest, custody, and stablecoin yield to “winter‑proof” their business models.

Why it matters: The analysis reframes crypto winter as a retail trading slump reflected in listed brokers’ earnings, rather than a collapse in on‑chain activity, and shows exchanges shifting toward rails, custody, and yield‑like revenue streams.

Source: Crypto winter shows up in broker earnings, not on‑chain, CryptoSlate

Are crypto stocks misunderstood?

Brian Armstrong says Wall Street underestimates Coinbase’s role

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says many traditional analysts still misunderstand Coinbase, arguing that crypto is disrupting Wall Street like Uber disrupted taxis, with roughly half of major financial institutions now engaging with crypto and Coinbase while the rest resist it because their careers are tied to the old system. He insists Coinbase has “never been in a stronger position,” pointing to strong 2025 growth in trading volume, market share, assets on platform, and products like USDC and Coinbase One, and urges investors to judge the company on its execution and adjusted profitability rather than noisy GAAP headlines.

Why it matters: Armstrong presents Coinbase as a core long‑term winner from finance moving on‑chain, suggesting persistent skepticism on Wall Street could be a source of upside for investors who are early.

Source: Brian Armstrong: “Why is Coinbase always misunderstood or under‑appreciated by Wall Street?”, X (Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong).

Crypto custodian BitGo seen as prime Wall Street acquisition target

Analysts at Compass Point and Canaccord say newly listed crypto custodian BitGo (BTGO) is emerging as a prime acquisition candidate for major banks and brokers, as it expands from core custody into a full‑service institutional crypto platform that TradFi firms can plug into instead of building their own infrastructure. They highlight BitGo’s potential to cross‑sell trading, financing, and staking on top of custody – with upside compared to Galaxy and Coinbase – and note that even after a weak post‑IPO share price performance, most analysts still rate BTGO a buy with meaningful upside to their targets.

Why it matters: The analysis underlines how regulated crypto infrastructure firms like BitGo are becoming strategic M&A targets for Wall Street as banks accelerate their digital‑asset plans and look for turnkey platforms rather than building their own from the ground up.

Source: Crypto custodian BitGo a potential acquisition target for Wall Street firms, analysts say, CoinDesk

Trading platform eToro shares jump 14% after record Q4 profit

CoinDesk reports that shares of trading platform eToro (ETOR) rose about 14% after the company posted its strongest quarter of 2025, with Q4 revenue of roughly $227 million (up 6% quarter‑on‑quarter) and a record net profit of about $69 million, even as crypto transaction revenue fell sharply amid lower volatility. Management said the shortfall from crypto was offset by higher activity in equities and commodities, with CEO Yoni Assia noting that some crypto‑focused users are rotating into gold, silver and other volatile commodities, and stressing that eToro sees itself as both a native‑crypto platform and a global equities broker preparing for a financial system that moves increasingly on‑chain.

Why it matters: eToro’s results show how diversified brokers can stay profitable – and even see their shares rally – through a crypto downturn by leaning on multi‑asset exposure, in contrast to more crypto‑dependent rivals like Robinhood and Coinbase that have reported weaker earnings on the back of slumping retail trading.

Source: Trading platform eToro shares jump 14% after posting record Q4 profit despite crypto revenue drop, CoinDesk

TradFi x crypto: real plumbing integrations

‘Crypto’s TradFi moment’: institutions are in

BeInCrypto argues that crypto is entering a “TradFi phase” where banks, asset managers, brokers, and payment companies increasingly treat digital assets as part of standard financial infrastructure rather than a speculative side bet, with growing participation in spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, tokenized real‑world assets, stablecoin payments, and regulated custody. The piece notes that many large firms now run crypto desks, pilot tokenization projects, or integrate blockchain rails into payments and settlement, which shifts focus from short‑term retail hype to long‑term product and infrastructure build‑out inside the existing financial system.

Why it matters: The article suggests future crypto cycles will be driven more by embedded, regulated institutional use than by retail mania, reinforcing the idea that digital assets are becoming a structural component of global finance.

Source: Crypto’s TradFi moment: institutions are in, BeInCrypto

Stripe’s stablecoin firm Bridge wins approval as a US national bank

CoinDesk reports that Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company owned by Stripe, has received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form a federally chartered national trust bank. Once fully approved, Bridge National Trust Bank will be able to issue and orchestrate stablecoins, custody digital assets, and manage stablecoin reserves under direct federal oversight, positioning Stripe to offer “digital dollars” infrastructure to enterprises, fintechs, crypto firms, and financial institutions within the new GENIUS Act federal stablecoin framework.​

Why it matters: The move puts Stripe’s stablecoin arm in the same regulatory lane as Circle, Ripple, Paxos and others pursuing OCC trust charters, and signals that core stablecoin issuance and custody are being pulled directly into the US banking perimeter rather than left to purely crypto‑native entities.

Source: Stripe’s Stablecoin Firm Bridge Wins Initial Approval of National Bank Trust Charter, CoinDesk.

$300 billion stablecoin increasingly used as “everyday money”

A new global survey of more than 4,600 consumers finds that stablecoins are shifting from a trading tool to day‑to‑day money, with a growing share of users holding roughly a couple of hundred dollars on average and using them for routine payments, savings, and remittances rather than just exchange transfers. The report highlights that this behaviour is especially pronounced in emerging markets and high‑inflation economies, where people use dollar‑pegged stablecoins for cross‑border payments and everyday spending, and argues that demand for “real‑world utility” will increasingly shape product design and regulation around the sector.

Why it matters: The findings suggest stablecoins are quietly becoming part of mainstream payment behaviour in many countries, reinforcing their role as core digital money infrastructure rather than a niche crypto side product.

Source: Crypto’s $300 billion stablecoin supply is increasingly used as ‘everyday money,’ global study finds, The Block (study by BVNK).

Nordic stories, rails and events to watch

Orange Wheel Podcast: Fragbite Group’s gaming–Bitcoin treasury strategy with Erika Mattsson

This episode of the Orange Wheel Podcast features Erika Mattsson, Chief Communications Officer at Fragbite Group, explaining how the listed gaming and esports company is building a dedicated Bitcoin treasury alongside its core operations. She and host Ted discuss the board‑level decision to accumulate bitcoin, how they communicate this to investors, and the opportunities and risks of running a volatile Bitcoin treasury strategy inside a public company.

Why it matters: The conversation offers a concrete case study of how a mid‑cap Nordic gaming company is using bitcoin to reshape its capital structure and investor narrative, illustrating both the upside and communication risks of listed companies adopting a Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Source: Orange Wheel Podcast: Fragbite Group’s gaming–Bitcoin treasury strategy with Erika Mattsson, Orange Wheel

Swish shares highlights: 8.8 million users and 7 billion payments

Inn Swish’s annual “Swish Insights” webinar, PR & Communication Specialist Jenny Ragnartz and Head of FCP & Analytics Robin Hjelte presented key figures from 2025, including average growth of 600 new users per day, bringing Swish to 8.8 million users. During 2025, Swish processed an average of 2,200 payments per minute (about 3.1 million per day), around 60 new companies joined the service each day, and business transactions grew 8% with the average payment amount rising 15% from 415 to 445 kronor, pushing Swish past the milestone of 7 billion payments since launch in 2012.​

Why it matters: The webinar shows how Swish is evolving from a simple peer‑to‑peer app into core infrastructure for new retail and self‑service payment experiences in Sweden, setting the stage for later growth in business and in‑store use.​

Source: Swish Insights: User growth and the rise of self‑service Swish payments.

Kaupr’s followers from Sweden doubles and Swedish page growing

Last autumn, Kaupr launched dedicated Sweden pages that aggregate news on Web3, crypto, and the future of finance, and traffic from Sweden plus LinkedIn followers have since grown strongly. The Sweden pages gather this coverage in one place, in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, or English, and the post highlights recent stories on players such as GreenMerc, K33, Safello, BTCX, Bits, Blockchain Sweden, Coinmotion, Virtune, major banks, fintechs, and more.

Why it matters: The update underlines that Sweden is becoming one of Kaupr’s most dynamic markets, with a fast‑expanding pipeline of Swedish stories and products that anchor the platform’s broader Nordic future‑of‑finance coverage.

Source: Kaupr LinkedIn post on the growth of its Sweden pages and recent Swedish coverage, pointing to the Kaupr Sweden news hub, Kaupr

Kaupr Event Calendar updated with packed event line-ups

Kaupr highlights that its event calendar in the Kaupr Event Hub has been updated with a busy run of Nordic crypto, Web3, fintech, investment, and payments events, from launch parties and industry reports to major payments conferences and Stockholm Fintech Week. The post also invites organizers and community members to submit additional “Future of Finance” events that could be relevant for Nordic investors, professionals, and builders.

Why it matters: The update underlines Kaupr’s push to make the Kaupr Event Hub a central navigation tool for the Nordic and European Future of Finance ecosystem, connecting editorial coverage with the key venues where industry players meet.

Source: Kaupr Event Hub, Kaupr

What to watch for

Watch whether bitcoin’s stalled bounce under 70k breaks or fades as we head into the weekend, while AI‑linked risk assets trade under the shadow of bubble worries, rising AI‑driven cost/inflation risks and a still‑fragile tech tape.

Why it matters: Markets are balancing enthusiasm for AI and digital assets against mounting concerns over overinvestment, cyber and regulatory risk, plus a noisy geopolitical backdrop—from renewed US–China trade tensions to tariff threats and broader great‑power rivalry—that could quickly sour risk sentiment and spill over into crypto.

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 Wednesday — and welcome back on Thursday morning for the next edition of Kaupr Today.

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Best regards
Morten Myrstad
Founder & Editor