Norway Freezes Ethics Council to Shield US Tech Stocks
Norway has paused its sovereign wealth fund’s ethics council to prevent forced divestment of major US tech stocks from its $2.1 trillion Government Pension Fund Global. The freeze, approved by parliament amid UN allegations that Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and Meta support Israeli surveillance in Gaza and rising geopolitical tensions with US diplomatic pressure, halts reviews under the fund’s ethical investing rules until a full parliamentary review in 2026. The sovereign wealth fund holds over 15% of its equity in US tech, including more than $20 billion in Alphabet. Traders should monitor the 2026 policy review, as changes could influence tech sector performance, global investment flows and ethical investing standards, with potential ripple effects on crypto markets.
Neutral
This news is neutral for the cryptocurrency market because it primarily affects equity allocations in major US tech stocks held by Norway’s sovereign wealth fund rather than crypto assets directly. In the short term, traders are unlikely to shift significant capital into or out of cryptocurrencies based on this policy freeze alone. In the long term, any reallocation away from tech stocks could marginally increase demand for alternative assets, including digital currencies, but such effects are speculative and depend on broader market sentiments and policy outcomes in the 2026 review.