Major United States crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase is launching support for European Union residents to make fiat currency withdrawals to online payment system PayPal. The development was announced in an official blog post published on Feb. 5. As reported, Coinbase had first rolled out PayPal withdrawal support for U.S. users last month. The European extension of the service will reportedly apply to both E.U. residents and those living in European Free Trade Association countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Coinbase had previously integrated support for PayPal back in summer 2016, but terminated the service within several weeks …

Norway has acted to end electricity subsidies for Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities, Norway’s largest printed newspaper Aftenposten reported Nov. 21. Until now, mining farms — in keeping with other power-intensive industries — paid a low rate of 0.48 øre ($0.05) per kilowatt. This will now rise to 16.58 øre per kilowatt as of January 2019, following an amended to the state budget agreement. One vocal parliamentary representative for the Socialist Left Party (SV) Lars Haltbrekken is quoted as strongly advocating the action, arguing: "Norway can not continue to provide huge tax incentives for the most dirty form of cryptocurrency output …

DNB ASA (Den Norske Bank), Norway’s largest financial services group, and the IOTA Foundation (IOTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), according to a press release May 31. DNB and IOTA will now reportedly cooperate to explore applications of the IOTA Tangle, a “third-generation” distributed ledger (DLT). According to the press release, the two parties will work together to find new business models across their respective industries. Lasse Meholm, Head of DLT at DNB, said that one goal of the project is better understand the technology and to let those at the bank who work with clients find opportunities …

Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, is considering developing its own digital currency as a supplement to cash to “ensure confidence in money and the monetary system”, according to a working paper May 18. The report, prepared by a Norges Bank working group, investigates aspects they believe should be considered when assessing the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The authors emphasize at least three possible CDBC applications: the introduction of a reliable alternative to deposits in private banks, a suitable legal tender as a supplement to cash, and an independent backup solution for electronic payment systems. Norges Bank …