Sweden is a strange country. Car manufacturers, fighter-jet manufacturers, furniture manufacturers and a country that the past 20 years has embraced the digital revolution like no other european country. Piratebay, Spotify, and more recently fin-tech companies like Precise Biometrics and Fingerprints cards.
In Stockholm things are so ridiculously hip with their "innovation hubs" and "tech hubs" I would suspect even experienced silicon valley-people would become a little bit awkward. Even norwegian urbaner's are by stockholmians looked upon as outback rednecks.
All this while at the same time trying really hard to turn their country into a caliphate.
Boden
Now they are embracing mining. Sweden has long been known for their Iron ores and even gold mining companies. Up north in Boden, several crypto mining and Blockchain companies have established data centers. Boden is also the home of massive data centers outside of the crypto-space. Facebook even has a data centre up there.
The reason is cheap electricity from hydro electric and also ironically the swedish government's open-mindedness.
A lot of foreign companies are interested in setting up operations in Sweden.
Norway
I've been personally actively trying to get in touch with norwegian governments and newspaper to make them understand how they must compete and how we have an advantage when it comes to mining and embracing cryptos.
Norway is "running out of oil" and our welfare fund is invested out there. The norwegian goverment owns a ridiciolous 1,2-1,5% of ALL the worlds wealth. That is insane for a country only making up 0,065% of the world population.
Unfortunately that money will never benefit the norwegian population. A small percentage called the"handlingsregel" (or rule of action) about 3% is used yearly to help cover expenses. Everything else is covered by high taxation (65% including VAT, tax, fees and special fees on for example gasoline ironically)
Apart from oil we are terrible on innovation. We have a government innovation fund that just throws money after ridicilous projects and seems to be run by incompetent people (shocker..)
Norway should absolutely embrace Cryptocurrency mining, because once again we are blessed with everything that has to do with power. We have much more hydro electricity infrastructure than Sweden. All our electricity comes from hydro electric. I mean..you can just go visit a random river and there will be a huge power-plant there.
Just an old nearby powerplant from the 30's. I don't think it's very operational. More like a tourist spot. But these are scattered around everywhere, and this is even in the lowlands in the South.
There is still hope though. Norway has not taken any stand on cryptos, but we were of course very early with taxation rules. The rate is 25% like any other profit on investments, but you will also get a refund of 25% on losses (like that will ever happen on cryptos)
And while Sweden is slowly turning into a crypto-haven/islamic caliphate, it remains to see if the norwegian government/kindergarden aunties that rule us are able to do what should be done.
Odin save us from these women..