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Norwegian Police Arrest Millionaire For Wife's Murder After Two-Year Goose Chase for Kidnappers Demanding $10M Monero Ransom

In October 2018, a Norwegian millionaire named Tom Hagen reported that his wife had been kidnapped and presented a ransom note to police that demanded $10 million worth of the privacy-centric cryptocurrency Monero.

According an article published by Reuters, Hagen was arrested on April 28 on the suspicion of murdering his own wife, Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, although his lawyer has denied the allegations.

Although Hagen has not officially been charged with any crime, Police Legal Counsel Aase Kjustad Eriksson was quoted in the report saying that police now have “reason to suspect Tom Hagen of murder or conspiracy for murder.”

But what about the $10 million Monero ransom?

According to Police Inspector Tommy Broeske, “There was no kidnapping, no real negotiating counterpart or real negotiations.” Inspector Broeske said there appears to be substantial evidence that the investigation has been intentionally misled.

Hagen’s wife, Anne-Elisabeth, was reported missing from their Oslo home in late October last year. While Hagen is considered to be one of the richest people in Norway, with a value of over $150 million, it is unknown how much Bitcoin or other crytptocurrency he may hold.

Hagen’s lawyer Svein Holden denied the allegations and said that, “He (Hagen) strongly maintains that he has nothing to do with this.”

Under Norwegian law, people may be held under suspicion of a crime prior to any formal arrest being made. Hagen will appear in court on April 29.

10% of Norwegian Adults Own Crypto, Double the Rate in 2018

Crypto ownership in Norwegian soil has been trending, because 10% of the adult population, representing 420,000 Norwegians, own cryptocurrencies, according to a study by Arcane Research and Ernst & Young (EY).

The latest figure is double the numbers recorded in 2018 because approximately 210,000 Norwegians owned crypto at that time.

Source: Arcane Research, EY

The growth rate is even higher in the last three years because more than 255,000 Norwegians have joined the crypto space since 2019.

Therefore, the crypto ownership rate in the country has doubled from 5% to 10% since 2018.

Source: Arcane Research, EY

In partnership with Norstat, a leading data collector for market research in Northern Europe, the online study surveyed 1,000 Norwegians aged 15 and above. Per the report:

“Younger adults are far more inclined to own crypto than older adults, with 19% of all participants aged 15 to 39 stating that they own crypto compared to 4% of those aged 40 or more.”

Female crypto ownership doubles

After three years of stagnation, Norwegian female crypto investors have found the right footing because their ownership rate has doubled from 3% to 6% this year.

Source: Arcane Research, EY

The survey noted that 63% of all female respondents disclosed that they purchased crypto for the first time either in 2021 or 2022.

Women are not being left out of the crypto space. More Turkish women were investing and trading cryptocurrencies as their crypto curiosity topped that of men, according to a recent survey by crypto exchange KuCoin.

On the other hand, the analysis was undertaken by Arcane Research and EY indicated that 14% of all Norwegian adult men own crypto, up by 3% from 2021.

Moreover, Bitcoin is the most popular crypto in Norway. The study noted:

“Two-thirds of all Norwegian crypto investors own bitcoin. Ethereum is the second-most popular cryptocurrency, while XRP and ADA follow in third and fourth.”

Meanwhile, almost 67% of residents in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have shown interest in crypto investments, Blockchain.News reported.

BIS Launches Project Icebreaker with Central Banks to Explore CBDC

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has rolled out Project Icebreaker together with the central banks of Sweden, Norway, and Israel to see how CBDCs can be utilized for international remittance and retail payments.

Per the announcement:

“Project Icebreaker is a collaboration between the Bank of Israel, Central Bank of Norway, Sveriges Riksbank and BIS Innovation Hub Nordic Centre to develop a “hub” to which participating central banks will connect their domestic proof-of-concept CBDC systems.”

Since cross-border payments are accustomed to insufficient transparency, limited access, low speeds, and high costs, Project Icebreaker seeks to explore how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can bridge the gap.

Ideally, it will scrutinize the technological feasibility and specific key functions of interjoining various domestic CBDC networks.

The project’s final report is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, given that it will run till the end of the year.

Andrew Abir, the Bank of Israel Deputy Governor, noted:

“The results of the project will be very important in guiding our future work on the digital shekel.”

He added:

“Efficient and accessible cross border payments are of extreme importance for a small and open economy like Israel and this was identified as one of the main motivations for a potential issuance of a digital shekel.”

According to a survey by Ripple, CBDCs have triggered overwhelming consensus among global finance leaders.

The study disclosed that more than 70% of them were certain that CBDCs would spur financial inclusion, Blockchain.News reported.

Once rolled out, CBDCs are expected to drive the financial inclusion of nearly 1.7 billion people left out of the banking system. This is because CBDCs are digital assets pegged to real-world assets and backed by the central banks.

In May, 90% of apex banks have shown intentions of rolling out Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), according to a study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). More than 110 countries are currently at one stage or another of the CBDC development process, and many more are poised to join the trend.

-With assistance from Annie Li –

Bitdeer Reports Robust Operational Performance for October 2023

Singapore-based Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR), a global frontrunner in the cryptocurrency mining industry, has released its unaudited operational metrics for October 2023, showcasing sustained robust performance and strategic advancements. Throughout the month of October, both the hash rate and the electrical capacity remained stable, which was praised by the CEO Linghui Kong. He brought out the fact that the Gedu Datacenter in Bhutan had contributed 3.3EH/s to the overall hash rate as well as 211 Bitcoins, which accounted for more than half of the entire Bitcoin production for the month. The ongoing construction of the Tydal Datacenter in Norway, which is anticipated to be completed in the year 2025, serves as an instance of the company’s devotion to the advancement of technology as well as the rise in shareholder value.

Bitdeer is a firm that operates in three key business areas, including self-mining for the goal of directly acquiring bitcoin, hash rate sharing including cloud hash rate plans, and complete hosting services for the maintenance of mining rigs. These three business sectors are all part of Bitdeer’s overall operations.

The most significant operational figures for the month of October 2023 indicated an unchanged total hash rate of 21.2 EH/s, with 221,000 mining machines under administration and an aggregate electrical capacity of 895MW across six datacenters. Despite the fact that Bitcoin mining slowed down somewhat from September to October, year-over-year production of the cryptocurrency increased by a significant 173.4%.

On the infrastructure front, Bitdeer is advancing its 175MW immersion cooling datacenter in Norway and will be actively participating in upcoming industry conferences, reinforcing its position in the digital assets landscape.

The fact that Bitdeer has operating presences in a variety of nations, including the United States of America, Norway, and Bhutan, is evidence of the company’s commitment to provide all-encompassing solutions for the mining of digital assets. Bitdeer is responsible for handling all aspects of the mining process, from procurement to day-to-day operations.