Norway’s ethics council to investigate crypto and gambling firms

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund’s Council on Ethics is launching an investigation into the cryptocurrency, gambling and shoemaking companies in its portfolio.

The investigation will be conducted in 2025 and could result in Norway’s sovereign fund selling its shares, according to a recent Reuters report.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — called Government Pension Fund of Norway — has nearly $1.79 trillion in assets at the time of writing. This is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and purportedly owns about 1.5% of all listed shares across 8,700 companies worldwide, while being bound by ethical guidelines set by the local parliament.

Norway’s Government Pension Fund has a Council on Ethics that investigates companies where the fund holds investments to ensure they comply with its guidelines. If companies violate these rules, the council recommends selling their shares or adding them to a public watch list.

A document sent by the council to the finance ministry on Oct. 10 announced in 2025 that it “will take a closer look at companies involved in cryptocurrencies and gambling/casino, where there is a significant risk of money laundering.”

Norway’s Government Pension Fund holds shares of the United States publicly-traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase worth $453 million, equivalent to a 0.83% stake. The fund also holds a 2.13% stake worth $691 million in gambling firm Flutter Entertainment and a $141 million 0.87% stake in gambling firm MGM Resorts.

The document also announced that the council “will investigate work conditions at a significant number of shoe producers.” No specific companies were named.

The reason behind the decision is likely reports of poor working conditions at shoe factories in Asia. The document notes that “companies have a direct responsibility for working conditions within their own operations and gross, systematic breaches of workers’ rights can lead to exclusions from the fund.”

Other companies that the ethics council is taking aim at include “several companies” that could be involved in breaching human rights in the occupied West Bank. After the investigation, the council will send its recommendations to the central bank that manages the fund — it visually follows the advice to exclude companies, but not always.

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