Nordic Crypto #1: Binance under scrutiny and Sweden's crypto sanctions warning

Hi, and welcome to the first Nordic Crypto newsletter.

What this is: Nordic Crypto gathers crypto, bitcoin and blockchain news from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Each story gets a short summary and a link to the original source. Drafts are checked before anything is published. The Nordic Crypto team is responsible for what you read here.

Binance and the EU's crypto rules (MiCA)

Crypto giant in new controversy: offered services in Europe without a licence
Binance is under investigation for allegedly offering services in Europe without the licence required under the EU's new crypto rules.
Realtid (Sweden) · 1 Oct · more Swedish stories on Nordic Crypto

Crypto giant skirts the rules in Europe and risks being thrown out
Binance said it would leave Europe, but customers are still trading. EU financial authorities now want to know how.
Dagens PS (Sweden) · 1 Oct

Sanctions and weapons financing: Sweden's watchdog warns

How Sweden can be used to finance nuclear weapons
Sweden's financial watchdog says crypto-assets and illegal financial networks pose the biggest risk of Iran and North Korea dodging sanctions through Sweden.
Realtid (Sweden) · 2 Oct

Here is where the risk of financing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is highest
Finansinspektionen's new risk assessment finds that weapons of mass destruction are most likely to be financed through illegal financial activity and crypto-assets.
Finansinspektionen (Sweden) · 1 Oct

Crime

Charged with selling drugs for cryptocurrency on the dark web
According to the Southern Norway public prosecutor, three Norwegians and a Swede have been charged in a large drug case with links abroad. The case involves drug sales on the dark web, paid for in cryptocurrency.
Aftenposten (Norway) · 2 Oct · may require a subscription · more Norwegian stories

Reports: teenagers duct-taped a man in hunt for cryptocurrency
Three teenagers have been arrested in Lund on suspicion of kidnapping. They are suspected of tying up a local man with duct tape to rob him of crypto.
Sydsvenskan (Sweden) · 2 Oct

Business and markets

GreenMerc cuts SEK 4.8 million a year as Northcrypto turns a profit
GreenMerc is cutting costs by SEK 4.8 million a year while Northcrypto turns a profit, with spending redirected to the banking offer Trijo One.
Kaupr (Sweden) · 30 Sep

Flying start for new crypto fund
Joakim Hannisdahl's new crypto fund, built on a model that did well in backtesting, is up 39 percent since it launched in August.
Finansavisen (Norway) · 28 Sep · may require a subscription

Community and technology draw crypto investors: bitcoin's new rally celebrated at crypto event
At a Finnish crypto event, investors said community and technology are what draw them to crypto, as bitcoin rallied again.
Yle (Finland) · 27 Sep · more Finnish stories

Coming up

• 8 Oct, Gothenburg: Göteborg Bitcoin Meetup #49, Ölrepubliken, 18:00
• 14 Oct, Oslo: Crypto killer apps, Polyteknisk Forening, 17:30 (paid entry)
• 15 Oct, Uppsala: Uppsala Bitcoin Meetup, Café Årummet, 17:30
• 28 Oct, Oslo: Oslo Blockchain Meetup: Nexa, Universitetsgata 2, 17:00. Disclosure: I'm the speaker, I run this meetup, and I work on Nexa at Bitcoin Unlimited.

More events, including Stockholm and Helsinki in November, are in the calendar.

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That's it for issue #1. All the stories, the events calendar and a who's who of Nordic crypto are at Nordic Crypto. If you spot a mistake or a story we missed, use the tip form.

Until next week,
The Nordic Crypto team

Disclosure: I work on the Nexa blockchain at Bitcoin Unlimited. Nothing here is investment advice.