Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) is a financial services company building products and services based on digital assets. NBX operates one of the largest platforms for trading cryptocurrencies in the Nordics.
NBX today provides an update about business and platform developments thus far this year, in accordance with the statement in alterations done to the financial calendar schedule 11. May 2022.
NBX upholds its ambition to become the first Nordic company to deliver crypto banking services to its customers. The company has released numerous new products and features and entered into several new agreements and letters of intent over the past few weeks. These positive developments come amidst a challenging period for the crypto economy as a whole, with a downturn in market cap of cryptocurrencies and volatile trading volumes on exchanges worldwide.
The first few months of 2022 have been marked by lower prices on crypto assets, as expectations of increased interest rates worldwide rise and the war in Ukraine brings new political and economic uncertainties. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 30% from $39,500 to $27,000 within one week in May, bringing the rest of the crypto market along on its downward trend. The negative development of crypto valuation has continued and accelerated over the past week, along with other asset classes. The downturn in market sentiment has affected the crypto economy as a whole, leading to a drop in new customers entering the market. On the flip-side, high price volatility in both upturn and downturn markets increases activity and transactions on exchanges. This has had a mitigating effect on results.
In addition to steep price changes in the crypto markets, there has been high volatility in fiat currencies. A weakening of appr. 13% of NOK vs USD since the start of the year has resulted in higher costs for NBX, as a substantial part of the company's costs are related to people and software invoicing in EUR and USD.
In response to the current market conditions and outlook, and in line with our strategy of sustainable growth, NBX is pursuing growth and new income streams. At the same time, we are adjusting our activity level and progress to the prevailing market situation. We have already taken action to reduce the overall cost base through a broad set of measures, and we will continue to identify structural cost measures aiming to balance growth and investments. NBX raised NOK 15.8 million of new equity through a private placement in May 2022, and continues its work with long-term financing of its growth ambitions.
As per our strategy, NBX is diversifying its service portfolio and pursuing additional revenue streams related to crypto services. This includes staking as a service on the Cardano blockchain, entering an agreement to provide trade and custody for a crypto index fund, as well as other projects that are still in development.
Other key highlights from NBX include:
● New payment options add ease of use for customers
NBX has in recent weeks added several new payment methods to the checkout service on the trading platform. Customers can now pay for crypto directly using payment methods such as Visa, Mastercard or Vipps. More payment methods will be added going forward. This saves customers from having to wait for a bank transfer.
● The NBX app is live - NBX has recently launched an app for easy trading on the go. The app is available for download on iOS and Android.
● Collaboration on the first Nordic crypto index fund - The technology company eGroup AS will launch the first index fund for cryptocurrencies in the Nordics. The fund will give institutional investors direct exposure to the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX) will deliver a solution for trading and custody.
● Capital raise of NOK 15.8 million completed - In May, NBX completed a private placement of 3,157,895 new shares. The private placement was completed at a subscription price of NOK 5.00 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 15.8 million, and was made in accordance with the authorization granted to the board of directors of NBX at the Company's General Meeting held on 25 April 2022. The capital raised will be used to fund development activities and for general corporate purposes.
● NBX hires former Euronext Securities Executive to lead Risk & Compliance - To further strengthen its focus on risk and compliance, NBX has appointed Trond Pettersen as Senior Risk and Compliance Officer. Pettersen has 20 years’ experience from Euronext Securities (formerly VPS, the Norwegian securities depository), and the last years as Chief Compliance Officer.
Attached is a presentation with selected developments from the first five months of 2022.
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This stock exchange announcement was published by Torstein Thin, CFO and Master of Coin of NBX, on 15 June 2022.
Contact person:
Torstein Thinn - CFO Mail: torstein.thinn@nbx.com
Telephone: 986 44 144
About NBX: Truly Norwegian cryptocurrency exchange and custodian. Based in Oslo and registered with the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. NBX offers everyone easy and secure access to cryptocurrency, focusing on the Nordic markets, but open for customers globally.