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Swan founder and CEO Cory Klippsten is all-in on Bitcoin. Not only does he believe that Bitcoin is poised to reach $1 million by 2030, he also thinks most alt-coins add little to no value and will eventually all go to zero. Accordingly, his company is a massive bet on the future of Bitcoin, from educating people about the world’s first crypto and convincing them to eventually self-custody, to making private equity investments in the Bitcoin ecosystem, to eventually planning to launch the first US Bitcoin-only trust company to create a safer environment for investors.

Here he talks to Unchained about his crypto journey, the likely impact of spot Bitcoin ETFs on crypto adoption and prices, his extreme skepticism about Bitcoin Ordinals, when he first knew Sam Bankman-Fried was a fraud and why he thinks that crypto VCs have done a “massive disservice” to the world.

Show highlights:

• What Swan Bitcoin is, its origin story and the future trajectory envisioned by Cory
• Cory’s journey into crypto, his journalism background and the shift to a Bitcoin-centric focus
• How Cory is navigating discussions with hedge funds, family offices, and insurance companies in anticipation of a Bitcoin spot ETF
• Swan’s Bitcoin-only investment strategies
• How lending and borrowing with Bitcoin is evolving
• Cory’s private equity investments within the Bitcoin ecosystem
• The rationale behind Swan launching the first US Bitcoin-only trust company
• Swan’s stance on financial privacy, especially after warning customers that banks might close their accounts if they used mixers
• Cory’s reasoning for advising against “trading” the Bitcoin spot ETF launch
• Predictions on when BTC might reach new all-time highs
• Cory’s perspective on Bitcoin Ordinals and their impact on the Bitcoin mempool
• The concerns about decreasing block rewards and the future security of Bitcoin
• Why Cory was convinced of FTX’s fraudulent nature after reviewing the balance sheet that led to SBF’s downfall
• Why he thinks that VCs have done a “massive disservice” to the world

Thank you to our sponsors!

• Uniswap
• Popcorn Network
• Arbitrum Foundation

Guest:

• Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Links:

Swan Bitcoin:

• Fortune: Swan deployed more than $200 million in 2023 building out institutional offerings such as Bitcoin-backed lending
• Protos: Some Swan Bitcoin customers lose banking access
• CoinDesk: BitGo, Swan to Form Bitcoin-Only Trust Company
• WSJ: Crypto Custodian Prime Trust Files for Bankruptcy Protection
• Decrypt: Swan, Coinbits Disclose Prime Trust Ties as Fallout Continues
• Cointelegraph: Swan Bitcoin to terminate customer accounts that use crypto-mixing services

Bitcoin ETFs:

• Previous coverage on spot Bitcoin ETFs:

• How Much Money Will Flow Into Bitcoin ETFs? Here’s One Projection
• Why a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Probably Launch No Later Than January 10
• Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF
• The Chopping Block: Are We Back? The ‘Low IQ’ Response to the Potential Spot Bitcoin ETF

• Unchained:
  • Why the SEC May Want Cash Creation of Spot Bitcoin ETFs
  • Bitcoin ETFs Explained: What Are They & How Do They Work?
  • BlackRock Updates Bitcoin ETF Filing to Make Access Easier for Wall Street Banks 

FTX

• CoinDesk: Divisions in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Blur on His Trading Titan Alameda’s Balance Sheet

Ordinals:

• Cory’s tweet on Ordinals
• Unchained:

• • Bitcoin Ordinals-Related Token ORDI Passes $1 Billion in Market Value
  • Bitcoin Mempool Reaches Record Levels of Congestion
  • Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What’s the Hype About?
  • Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable?
  • Why All 10,000 OnChainMonkey NFTs Will Move From Ethereum to Bitcoin

• Learn more:

• • What Are BRC-20 Tokens? 
  • What Are ORC-20 Tokens? 
  • How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal