Buying cryptocurrency in the Nordics has always had its challenges. Many banks in the zone have been wary of allowing users to purchase crypto with their Nordic bank cards, quickly blocking transactions when detected.
The problem is especially prevalent in Denmark,” says Karina Rothoff Brix, country manager for Denmark at Firi, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the Nordics, now used by 250,000 people. “Banks have also often blocked users from transferring their crypto earnings back to fiat because the banks fear AML violations.”
However, in Norway, where Firi is based, banks place no restrictions whatsoever on transactions to and from Firi. The exchange has proven itself thoroughly as a reliable partner with robust AML procedures that adhere to the country’s strictest standards.
“Firi has an e-money license in Norway, which is far stricter than the VASP—virtual asset service provider—license used in other Nordic countries for crypto exchanges,” says Karina. The stricter license means that Firi had to build in solid AML practices from the start.
“Norwegian banks tend to always accept our clients’ conversion back to fiat because they trust our exchange’s AML procedures.”
Karina Rothoff Brix
Country Manager for Denmark at Firi
Firi—a lighthouse in rocky waters
“Firi” is an Old Norse word meaning “lighthouse.” The company’s two founders—Thuc Tuan Hoang and Øyvind Kvanes—chose the word to represent the company’s guiding principle: A place of safety in the sometimes tumultuous world of crypto.
Recent fiascos with other crypto exchanges made it clear that it does matter where a company is regulated. However, Firi’s effort to make it safe for Nordic residents to invest in cryptocurrency goes beyond mere compliance. It forms part of the company’s very culture.
For example, the company started out by first offering only Bitcoin, then moved on to other, reliable tokens such as Ether, Tether USDT, and ADA (Cardano’s token). Unlike other exchanges, the company resolutely avoids so-called “shitcoins”—tokens with no intrinsic value and zero utility. Shitcoins are often used in cryptocurrency scams such as the “pump and dump,” where scammers artificially inflate the price of a token and then cash out just before the price plummets.
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No one can guarantee success in investing—whether that’s cryptocurrency or traditional stocks—but Firi makes it a point to do its own due diligence before offering a coin to its customers.
Firi also works hard to educate its users, providing daily news inside its app in Norwegian and Danish—the exchange is currently active in Norway and Denmark, and will open in Sweden at the end of the year—and a weekly Danish podcast with the latest news about the global cryptocurrency market.
Security of funds
Firi holds all customer funds in separate accounts to its own so that those funds cannot become part of the bankruptcy estate if anything should ever happen to the company, as stipulated by the Norwegian Accountancy Act.
Customers can also choose to hold the keys to their cryptocurrency in “cold” (offline) or “hot” (online) wallets. For hot wallets, Firi works with leading blockchain security provider Fireblocks to ensure maximum security of customer funds. Also, no single employee can access any wallet directly, and multiple signatures must be present to do so.
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Built-in tax calculation
One of the largest challenges for Nordic residents regarding cryptocurrency is the complexity of calculating taxes. Firi takes care of this automatically. Users simply click a button, and Firi prints out a report with all the relevant tax data.
Norway has the highest crypto adoption
Firi’s work to make crypto safe might very well be why Norway has the highest crypto adoption of all the Nordic states, with 9.2% of Norwegians owning crypto, according to a recent report by EY and K33. Norwegians also have the highest percentage of people using local exchanges, whereas the other Nordic states tend to use international exchanges.
The situation might change when MiCA goes into full force at the end of this year, compelling foreign exchanges and smaller exchanges to leave Europe because of MiCA’s stringent rules. However, Firi is already compliant with MiCA because the company has had to adhere to the strict e-money licensing regulations since 2019.
