A Norwegian billionaire is announcing his company’s investment in Bitcoin while highlighting that it’s risky not to put money into the leading cryptocurrency.
In a letter to shareholders, Kjell Inge Røkke reveals that his Norwegian holding company Aker has established Seetee, a firm dedicated to investing in Bitcoin and the Bitcoin ecosystem.
The Norwegian tycoon says Seetee is launching with a capitalization of $58.8 million which it plans to increase over time.
Røkke says the company has a threefold strategy for its crypto investments. According to the billionaire, the first step is to become hodlers.
“First, we will use bitcoin as our treasury asset and join the community. In Bitcoin speak, we will be hodlers. We will be different, but additive. Perhaps not as rebellious as the cypherpunks who invented Bitcoin. But much more progressive than most established corporates. The team at Seetee is already running open-source bitcoin payment servers and will remain active contributors in the community.”
The Norwegian says the next step will be to build mining operations integrated with sustainable energy sources.
“Second, Seetee will establish mining operations that transfer stranded or intermittent electricity without stable demand locally – wind, solar, hydro power – to economic assets that can be used anywhere. Bitcoin is, in our eyes, a load-balancing economic battery, and batteries are essential to the energy transition required to reach the targets of the Paris Agreement. Our ambition is to be a valuable partner in new renewable projects.”
Røkke’s says Seetee’s third component to their Bitcoin investment plan is to create and invest in various projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
“Third, we will build and invest in projects and companies in Bitcoin’s ecosystem. This is where our true passion is! Our home game is industrial applications. But we also believe nicely designed modern user interfaces will enable new applications wherever transactions happen. I am particularly interested in micropayments and how these may enable us to avoid usernames, passwords, and our personal data being monetised with, and often without, our knowledge or consent.”
As he reveals Seetee’s strategy, Røkke also explains why he believes not investing in Bitcoin is a risky proposition.
“Risk is not an obvious concept. What’s commonly considered risky is frequently not. And vice versa. We are used to thinking that cash is risk free. But it’s not. It’s implicitly taxed by inflation at a small rate every year. It adds up…
Bitcoin may still go to zero. But it can also become the core of a new monetary architecture. If so, one Bitcoin may be worth millions of dollars. The asymmetry is interesting to a portfolio. People who know the most about Bitcoin believe its future success is nearly inevitable.”
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