Norwegian savings bank Sparebanken Øst has invested $1.65 million in a local bitcoin exchange as demand for cryptocurrencies booms amidst an ongoing economic slowdown.

Sparebanken Øst purchased a 16.3 percent stake in Norwegian Block Exchange (NBX), a digital assets trading platform founded by airline tycoon Bjørn Kjos. The founder of Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavia’s largest airline is set to launch NBX by mid-September after spending almost a year on its development. His new partners at Sparebanken sees the exchange as something that could “challenge existing financial ecosystems” with its range of services.

NBX plans to offer digital asset trading, payment and saving solutions, and other blockchain-based services.

“As these digital asset initiatives begin to become part of the mainstream, Sparebanken Øst has decided to take an ownership stake in NBX to obtain new knowledge and solutions as well as learn from and understand disruptive initiatives. This understanding will equip the bank to manage competition and future-oriented solutions for customers,” — read the bank’s press statement. A Business Hedge Called Bitcoin

The announcement follows Kjos’ decision to interconnect his airline operations with their cryptocurrency exchange. The business magnate stated in late July that Norwegian Air would start accepting payments in bitcoin. Sparebanken believes it is a great strategy to drive airline’s as well as exchange’s operations. The bank wrote: