Norwegian billionaire does a 180 turn on Bitcoin, proceeds to buy the asset after calling for a ban

Øystein Stray Spetalen, a Norwegian businessman, has recently invested in Bitcoin a few days after shaming the cryptocurrency and calling for its ban.

According to a report by Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN), the billionaire had a change of heart barely 10 days after his earlier comments. Spetalen’s new stance may not be unconnected with Bitcoin purchases from other big-money players.

As reported by BTC PEERS, Norwegian oil giant Aker ASA recently set up a business unit to invest in the flagship cryptocurrency. The unit launched with about $58.6 million. The chairman of the firm, Kjell Inge Røkke has also been heard hyping Bitcoin in recent times.

Spetalen defending his new decision told Norwegian business newspaper Finansavisen in an interview:

When the facts change, I change. I met the Miraiex founders Thuc and Øyvind the day after the podcast was recorded in early March and realized that I had been wrong. And when I also read that Kjell Inge Røkke had gone into bitcoin, it was quite obvious. Can’t bear to see that Røkke makes money and not me.

Bitcoin has been welcoming a lot of early critics. Recently, “The Wolf of Wall Street” showered praises on Bitcoin, eventually dropping a price prediction of $100k.