The Norwegian Gateway: ITavisen, CryptoEasily, and the Myth of "Norsk er Trygt"

Abstract

A Norwegian technology news outlet with roots dating back to the early 2000s has become the sole Nordic gateway for a suspected cryptocurrency scam. This investigation documents how ITavisen.no promoted CryptoEasily—a platform making mathematically impossible return claims with fabricated regulatory credentials—without adequate disclosure to Norwegian readers. Within 16 days of publication, a verified Norwegian victim emerged.

The case exposes a deeper problem: the false sense of security Norwegians derive from consuming content on Norwegian platforms, denominated in NOK, from seemingly trusted sources. The "norsk er trygt" (Norwegian is safe) narrative is not just misleading—it's actively exploited by scam operators who use Norwegian media as a legitimacy gateway.

At FTRCRP, we advocate transparency in promotional content. Making money from advertising is not unethical—but hiding it from readers is.

Part 1: CryptoEasily — The Scam Anatomy

1.1 The Impossible Promise

On December 12, 2025, ITavisen published an article titled "Siste Bitcoin-hete: BTC-innehavere tjener enkelt over $10 000 per måned gjennom CryptoEasily".

The claims:

Investment	Duration	Promised Return	Annualized Rate
$100	2 days	$108	1,460% APY
$1,000	7 days	$1,094.50	492% APY
$4,500	16 days	$5,616	566% APY

For context: legitimate Bitcoin mining operations cannot generate these returns. The global average Bitcoin mining profitability is approximately 20-40% annually under ideal conditions. Returns of 500-1,400% APY are characteristic of Ponzi schemes where early investors are paid with funds from later investors.

1.2 Fabricated Credentials

The articles claimed CryptoEasily was "registrert hos Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)" and "gjennomgår årlige revisjoner av PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) og tilbyr forsikring av digitale eiendeler gjennom Lloyd's of London."

Verification results:

Claim	Registry Searched	Result
FCA Authorization	FCA Financial Services Register	NOT FOUND
UK Companies House	Companies House	NO MATCH
PwC Annual Audits	PwC Press Database	NO CONFIRMATION
Lloyd's Insurance	Lloyd's Market List	NO CONFIRMATION

Every major regulatory claim is unverifiable.

1.3 Domain Deception

CryptoEasily's domain was registered in December 2017 but was listed FOR SALE in early 2022. The current brand launched in 2024. They purchased an aged domain to appear established—the business is approximately 1-2 years old despite implying 7+ years of operation.

Part 2: The Norwegian Victim

2.1 Timeline: From Promotion to Victim

Date	Event
2025-12-12	ITavisen publishes CryptoEasily promotional article
2025-12-14	ITavisen publishes second promotional article
2025-12-28	Norwegian user posts 1-star Trustpilot review

16 days from promotion to documented victim.

2.2 The Testimony

On Trustpilot, user "aleksander kvaløy" (Norwegian location confirmed) posted:

"Do not try this. I am a member on cryptoeasily and this is wrong, Lies and fake."

2.3 Verification of Authenticity

This is not a fake account. The user has 5 reviews across different companies, including a verified purchase from E-Wheels Norge AS where the company replied. The timing (Dec 28) aligns with the Dec 12-14 promotional window. The statement "I am a member" indicates actual investment.

Part 3: ITavisen — From Tech Pioneer to Promotional Platform

3.1 The Early Days

ITavisen was founded on October 21, 1996 as "Dagens Telecom"—one of Norway's earliest online tech publications. By the early 2000s, it had established itself as a credible source for IT news, tests, and commentary.

3.2 The Transition

In February 2015, editor Trond Bjarne Bie acquired the publication through his company Pollination Publishing AS and announced plans to relocate operations to Silicon Valley.

Corporate structure (Brønnøysund Register):

Field	Value
Company	Pollination Publishing AS
Org.nr	914 850 053
Revenue (2024)	NOK 2,769,506
Employees	1-4
Ownership	Trond Bie 66.67%, parents 33.33%

A family-owned operation with 1-4 employees generating nearly NOK 3 million annually—primarily through affiliate marketing and promotional content.

3.3 The Reddit Response

Norwegian readers noticed. In December 2025, a thread titled "Promoterer itavisen.no krypto svindel?" appeared on r/norge with 83 upvotes and 58 comments.

Selected comments:

"Kan ITavisen anmeldes til politi hvis det er svindel? Jeg hadde aldri funnet det firmaet hvis de ikke lagde en artikkel om cryptoeasily"
— "Can ITavisen be reported to police if it's a scam? I would never have found that company if they hadn't written an article about CryptoEasily"

"Det ligner veldig på betalt reklame, men uten merking og åpenbart skrevet (oversatt) av ki"
— "It looks a lot like paid advertising, but without labeling and obviously written (translated) by AI"

3.4 The Disclosure Problem

The CryptoEasily articles were published in ITavisen's "Nyheter" (News) section—not labelled as sponsored content. Our HTML analysis reveals:

• No "Annonsørinnhold" header
• No sponsor identification
• Author listed as "ITavisen.no" (hiding actual author/sponsor)
• ITavisen's CSS shows "ANNONSE" labels exist for specific posts—but not applied to CryptoEasily articles

The articles have not been removed. An editorial note was eventually added—but buried at the very bottom, beneath all signup links and promotional content. It reads: "ITavisen har avsluttet kommersielt samarbeid knyttet til denne tjenesten etter en intern gjennomgang" (ITavisen has terminated commercial collaboration following an internal review). Scams operate on urgency. Readers rushing to "get in early" click signup links at the top—they may never scroll to the disclaimer. A Norwegian-faced, decades-old outlet lends credibility. The warning comes too late.

Part 4: The Platforms They Serve — From Legitimate to Fraudulent

4.1 The Spectrum of Risk

ITavisen promotes financial platforms across a spectrum:

Legitimate but problematic:

• eToro (Israeli-founded, CySEC license 109/10)
• Plus500 (Israeli-founded, CySEC regulated)

Suspected fraud:

• CryptoEasily (unregistered, fabricated credentials)

This distinction matters. eToro and Plus500 are regulated platforms where trading is legal. CryptoEasily appears to be an unregistered scam. But ITavisen promotes all of them under the same editorial umbrella, without clear disclosure.

4.2 The Israeli Fintech Connection

Both eToro and Plus500 were founded in Israel. This is not inherently problematic—many legitimate fintech companies originate from Israel's strong tech sector. However, a 2021 Times of Israel investigation revealed troubling connections:

"The Times of Israel published an investigation on eToro, exposing dozens of cases of staffing connections between eToro and Israel's largely fraudulent binary options industry."

Former ISA chairman Shmuel Hauser joined eToro's advisory board after overseeing regulatory decisions that impacted the company. In 2017, eToro lobbied for—and Hauser agreed to—modifications to a Knesset bill that would have restricted their operations.

To be clear: eToro did not operate binary options, and this does not imply eToro engaged in fraud. But the documented staffing connections to an industry the FBI called "one of the largest frauds in history" raise questions about due diligence in hiring and corporate culture.

4.3 Regulatory History

eToro:

• 2013: CySEC fine €50,000 for operational weaknesses
• 2018: Canadian settlement $550,000 fine + $1.8M disgorgement
• 2023: Italy fine €1.3M for misleading advertising
• 2024: SEC settlement $1.5M for unregistered crypto securities trading

Plus500:

• 2014-2016: FCA investigation into AML compliance; customer onboarding suspended

From eToro's own website: "67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider."

These are regulated platforms. They disclose risks. Most users still lose money.

4.4 The Protection Gap

CySEC Investor Compensation Fund: €20,000 maximum. Cryptocurrencies explicitly excluded.

Norwegian Investor Protection: Up to NOK 200,000 (approximately €17,000). Similar practical coverage to CySEC.

The uncomfortable truth: Norwegian platforms don't necessarily offer better protection than Cyprus-regulated alternatives. And neither protects cryptocurrency investments.

4.5 The "Norsk er Trygt" Myth

Norwegian consumers derive false comfort from:

1. Norwegian language content — "It's in Norwegian, it must be vetted"
2. NOK denomination — "I see kroner, not dollars—feels local"
3. Norwegian domain (.no) — "It's a Norwegian website"
4. Familiar outlet — "ITavisen has been around for decades"

None of these factors indicate regulatory protection. None prevent a platform from promoting scams. The familiarity creates a trust heuristic that scam operators deliberately exploit.

Very few things are actually safer just because they're Norwegian. But that's another discussion.

Part 5: Regulatory Framework and Violations

5.1 Vær Varsom-plakaten (Press Code of Ethics)

Section 2.6: "Reject attempts to break down the clear distinction between advertising and editorial content. Ensure no doubt arises about what is advertising vs. editorial."

Section 2.8: "Hidden advertising is incompatible with good press ethics... If journalistic content is externally financed, this must be obvious to the audience."

5.2 Markedsføringsloven (Marketing Act)

§ 3: "Marketing must be designed and presented so that it clearly appears as marketing."

The CryptoEasily articles appear to violate both press ethics and marketing law through absence of sponsor labelling, publication in "News" section as editorial content, and promotion of a platform with fabricated credentials.

Part 6: The Broader Scam Network

CryptoEasily operates a multi-tier paid promotion network spanning wire services (GlobeNewswire, OpenPR), major outlets' press release sections (USA Today, KTLA), crypto sites (ZyCrypto, ChainPlay), and Nordic gateways—where ITavisen is the ONLY Norwegian outlet promoting CryptoEasily.

Pattern: Every major Norwegian tech outlet either warns about crypto scams or uses proper disclosure. ITavisen promotes them without labelling.

Part 7: The FTRCRP Position

On Promotional Content

At FTRCRP, we advocate for transparency. Making money from promotions and advertising is not unethical—it's a legitimate revenue model that sustains independent media.

What crosses the line:

1. Hidden sponsorship — Readers cannot distinguish editorial from promotional
2. Fabricated claims — Promoting impossible returns, fake credentials
3. Consumer harm — Financial losses from misleading content
4. Retained content — Articles remain live after fraud is documented

The CryptoEasily articles tick every box.

Recommendations for Consumers

1. Check disclosure — Look for "Annonsørinnhold" or "Sponset" labels
2. Verify credentials — Search FCA, Finanstilsynet registers directly
3. Question returns — Anything promising >20% annual returns deserves scrutiny
4. Cross-reference — If only one outlet promotes a platform, ask why

Conclusion

ITavisen has transitioned from a high-end tech news outlet in the early 2000s to a promotional advertising platform. The CryptoEasily articles—still live, still unlabelled—exemplify a pattern where readers cannot distinguish journalism from paid content.

According to our investigation, we already have at least one victim: Aleksander Kvaløy, who stated plainly: "I am a member on cryptoeasily and this is wrong, Lies and fake."

The articles remain published. They can still mislead people. This is unethical publishing.

Readers should evaluate ITavisen's content accordingly.

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References

Bankenes sikringsfond (2026) How much is covered? bankenessikringsfond.no

Brønnøysund Register (2026) Pollination Publishing AS - 914850053. virksomhet.brreg.no

FCA (2026) Financial Services Register. register.fca.org.uk

Journalisten (2015) 'Kjøper IT-avisen og flytter utenlands'. journalisten.no

Presse.no (2015) Vær Varsom-plakaten. presse.no

SEC (2024) 'eToro Reaches Settlement with SEC'. sec.gov

Times of Israel (2021) 'Ex-securities regulator now works for fintech firm that pushed him to weaken law'. timesofisrael.com

Trustpilot (2025) CryptoEasily Reviews. trustpilot.com

Wayback Machine (2025) ITavisen CryptoEasily Article Archive. web.archive.org

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This report documents findings for consumer protection purposes. All claims are based on publicly available information, official registry searches, and independent verification. Individuals and entities mentioned are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in appropriate legal proceedings.

FTRCRP.ORG — Ethics-First Technology