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Swan Bitcoin cancels conference amid staff reduction, mining shutdown

According to Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, “it just doesn’t feel like the right time for a festival” after the firm announced staff cuts in July.

Financial services firm Swan Bitcoin has canceled a cryptocurrency conference it planned to host in California in October.

In an Aug. 5 X post, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten announced that the company would not hold the Pacific Bitcoin Festival in 2024. The event, initially planned to be held in Santa Monica, California, from Oct. 18 to Oct. 19, was roughly two months away at the time of cancellation.

“We’re fully focused on [Swan Bitcoin’s] core business right now, and after going through a staff reduction last month it just doesn’t feel like the right time for a festival,” said Klippsten.

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Bitcoin volatility hovering within 6% of record low levels

Before the June 7 price decline, Bitcoin's volatility over the previous 15-day period sat within "the bottom 6% of occurrences."

Bitcoin's (BTC) price had such little movement over the 15 days leading up to the sharp decline on June 7 that it approached historic lows seen across all 15-day periods in Bitcoin's history.

The period between May 24 and June 7 was in the “bottom 6% of occurrences” for volatility, according to Swan Bitcoin chief investment officer Rapha Zagury.

“The horizontal blue line is the latest 15-day rolling volatility number of 23%. It certainly looks close to the lower level,” Zagury explained in a June 7 post on X, pointing to the extended period of time that Bitcoin was “stuck in a range.”

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Emergency ‘wall of liquidity’ to prop up Yen bullish for Bitcoin: Swan

Swan Bitcoin's Dante Cook suggests that Bitcoin could benefit from the declining Japanese yen, depending on what the U.S. and Japan central banks do next.

A declining Japanese yen may end up a “disaster” for United States treasuries, which in turn, could be a boon to Bitcoin (BTC) as investors flock to alternative stores of value, according to an executive from Swan Bitcoin. 

At the time of publication, 1 JPY is the equivalent to 0.0064 USD, losing 2.39% strength over the past 30 days, as per Google Finance data.

“This spells disaster for Japan and the U.S. potentially, as Japan is the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, only 4% of its forex reserves are in gold, the rest are almost exclusively in U.S. treasuries,” Swan Bitcoin head of business Dante Cook explained in a May 8 episode of Bitcoin Daily.

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Bitcoin’s top of funnel is becoming less noisy, suggests Swan Bitcoin CEO

According to Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, Bitcoin ETFs are set to replace the chaotic entry points tainted by flashy crypto marketing campaigns since 2017.

Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten has suggested that spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) will suppress the loud and flashy marketing strategies that have served as the initial gateway for many into the crypto space since 2017.

During a recent interview with Bloomberg on December 1, Klippsten reiterated that Bitcoin ETFs offer an alternative entry into the market at a time when it has been tainted by well-funded crypto marketing schemes:

“The past six years from 2017 through 2023, the top of the funnel for people looking to get into Bitcoin has been extremely noisy, polluted by all of the crypto marketing schemes funded by $50 billion of venture capital, trying to essentially market and dump crypto tokens.”
Cory Klippsten speaking on Bloomberg Radio. Source: Bloomberg

He went on to clarify that an ETF functions similarly to an IOU for the product, differentiating it from a futures-based alternative.

"I think it's a great top of funnel for people to get into Bitcoin and then if they want to go a little deeper and explore it, and hold more," he stated.

Moreover, aligning with the views of fellow crypto analysts who posit a "clear runway" for Bitcoin ETF approval in January, Klippsten expressed a similar optimism.

"That window seems to have been narrowed to January 8th, 9th, or 10th.

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Just how bullish is the Bitcoin halving for BTC price? Experts debate

Analysts recently debated whether or not the Bitcoin halving is still a meaningful catalyst for BTC’s price discovery.

A recent panel at the Swan Pacific Bitcoin festival was cleverly titled, “Are halving price cycles bullshit?” Throughout the discussion, host and founder of the Bitcoin Layer Nik Bhatia asked Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, Swan CIO Ralph Zagury and Swan product manager Andy Edstrom to share their thoughts on whether the Bitcoin halving is truly a bullish event or just another narrative that novice investors buy into. 

While the panel’s headline might be offputting for some, the inquiry is of great interest to all manner of Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency investors. The conventional belief held by many in the space is that the Bitcoin supply halving is a bullish phenomenon that when complete, is followed by near parabolic upside in BTC price.

Go and ask any Bitcoin lover about what they’re most excited about in the next year and if they don’t mention the chance for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval first, they're probably going to say the upcoming halving event.

While previous performance does provide some compelling evidence for what might happen in the next halving, questioning long held assertions and price expectations for a high volatility asset like Bitcoin is probably something every investor should do more often — especially when considering the number of bearish events that have occurred in the past two years.

To start the discussion, host Nik Bhatia jumped right in by asking “if the halving is the main driver of the Bitcoin price?”

Thiel quickly responded with:

“In this cycle, no, I think it’s liquidity”

Zagury agreed, adding that “flow is really what drives the market, so the halving by definition, there’s nothing on it that should impact price.” Interestingly, Edstrom took a different position by suggesting that:

“I think the halving is still bullish and we can debate what the magnitude of that effect is, but yeah, I think it still matters for price.”

Each panelist, including host Bhatia seemed to agree that while the halving may possess some market moving capacity, it could be diminishing over time. According to Bhatia,

“The halving affects supply. It is less and less material as time goes on and it does nothing to affect demand. But from a psychological perspective, we might be able to play devil’s advocate.”

Halving hype and hopium is all in investors’ heads

Panelists at the "Are halving price cycles bullshit?" panel. Source: Swan Bitcoin YouTube

Speculation is essentially at the root of all investing, and while Zagury and Thiel are of the mind that investors attribute more hope, than fact, to the forecast impact of the Bitcoin halving, Edstrom sees the event as the manifestation of a “psychological feedback loop coming into the demand side.”

“We think that Bitcoin price is going to be higher in the future, and by extension we are applying a lens of investment as we’re investing in Bitcoin.”

Another popular yearslong held belief by many investors is the role derivatives play in Bitcoin’s price discovery. Bhatia asked whether derivatives played a larger role than spot trading in impacting Bitcoin’s price action and Zagury said,

“The reality is that the data points we have, in terms of halving, are not enough to come to any conclusion. If you look historically at Bitcoin price, we’ve got the whole data set of price, and you try to find patterns of distribution, of how returns actually work, very quickly you see that there’s a lot of outer correlation, which means that price depends on time and also past performance.”

According to Zagury, “a thing about Bitcoin which is super curious, and I think there isn’t any other asset class like this out there, is that most of the time, Bitcoin is moving either sideways, in terms of number of days, it's either sideways or down.”

Related: BTC price models hint at $130K target after 2024 Bitcoin halving

Bitcoin’s time spent trading in a rangebound band or in a downtrend is what Zagury says “makes it really hard to hodl, right, because it means you're going to have months and years of pain and you’re going to have days of glory.”

“Being a hodler by definition, by distribution of prices that you see historically, it's extremely hard.”

Peddling back to the initial question about the role derivatives play in Bitcoin price discovery, Zagury said:

“When we talk about derivatives, the first thing you’re going to talk about is probability. It’s impossible to conclude what is really going to happen with Bitcoin price, that’s the first thing that you conclude by looking at historical returns. Going back to the halving, the fact that it actually outer correlates a lot, sometimes, in particular times of low liquidity. A small move that bumps the price up, the marginal seller out there will go through the short term sellers and then the price will jump up significantly. This explains why price moves up very very quickly.”

Liquidity will be the focal point

Despite discounting the impact of Bitcoin supply halvings on BTC price, each panelist expressed their positive longer-term bullish perspectives for Bitcoin’s value.

With liquidity being the agreed upon future price catalyst for Bitcoin, Zagury said:

“I’m very bullish. I think we are going to see that soon, because liquidity has been drawing down and we see that these things are starting to happen and it's not going to take a lot for us to see a very big move.”

When asked when and how this all-important liquidity comes back, Edstrom hinted that 10-year U.S. Treasuries pushing above 5%, the potential regional bank failures that mirror the ones seen 6 months ago, and the rising amount of banks holding long duration government debt at a loss, are all signs that a Federal Reserve pivot that returns to quantitative easing could occur sooner than later.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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What is Swan Bitcoin and how does it work?

Swan Bitcoin has simplified Bitcoin saving with automatic recurring buys and one-time buys. Find how Swan Bitcoin works.

When someone wants to buy Bitcoin (BTC), they usually take the route of a cryptocurrency exchange. Newbies may buy BTC on just any exchange they come across, while those with some sort of experience may opt for a reputable one. The exercise though bears little fruit as most exchanges function almost identically as centralized entities, often working as custodians of the crypto assets of the buyers.

The security factor is generally limited to passwords and 2-factor authentication (for the buyers who have opted for it). Customer support, wallet support and ease of use are other factors that buyers might consider when zeroing in on an exchange to buy Bitcoin.

Exchanges have a drawback when it comes to supporting customers who want to buy Bitcoin. With an array of digital coins on their platforms, it is simply not possible for them to focus exclusively on Bitcoin buyers. They lack Bitcoin experts who could analyze how Bitcoin should optimally feature in the portfolio of the buyer, factoring in macro factors in crypto and mainstream economy along with buyers’ own financial status.

The scenario pronounces the need for a Bitcoin-specific platform that would not only enable anyone to buy the first decentralized cryptocurrency but also provide them with expert advice and hand-holding. This is where Swan Bitcoin rolls in. As a Bitcoin-only accumulation platform, it caters to regular customers as well as high-net-worth individuals and businesses. This article will help potential investors understand what Swan Bitcoin is and how it works.

What is Swan Bitcoin

Swan Bitcoin helps one save value in Bitcoin, using the method of dollar-cost averaging to incentivize saving over spending. In return for a fee, it allows buyers to sign up for both one-time and recurring Bitcoin purchases. It doesn’t take a spread on the purchase, as well. A spread refers to the difference between the buy (offer) and sell (bid) prices of an asset.

To buy Bitcoin, all users need to do is connect their bank accounts with Prime Trust, an institutional-grade custodian working with Swan Bitcoin. The platform enables users to automate the withdrawal of funds from their bank accounts to Swan accounts and assign a Bitcoin address as well to set up a withdrawal schedule. The users may also select any amount and time period. 

Using dollar-cost averaging in buying Bitcoin 

Dollar-cost averaging is a strategy of investing a fixed dollar amount at predetermined regular intervals to spread out purchases and bring down the average cost of each share. The approach helps in developing a disciplined investing habit and brings down the costs.

A few considerations before applying the dollar-cost-averaging (DCA) investment strategy

An example will help an investor understand dollar-cost averaging better. Suppose one invests $500 every month. In a buoyant market, $500 will get fewer cryptocurrency, but when the market goes down, an investor can buy more cryptocurrency with the same amount. The strategy could pare down the average cost per coin, compared with what one would have ended up paying if they had bought all the cryptocurrency in one go when they were more expensive.

For purchasing Bitcoin, one could think of waiting for an opportune moment when the price is low. However, to time the market is practically not possible for anyone. Rather, investors could opt for daily, weekly or monthly savings to steadily transform their dollars into savings in Bitcoin. 

How Swan Bitcoin works

Swan puts customers at liberty to auto-withdraw Bitcoin to its own self-custody address or places it with the platform’s institutional-grade custodian set up in their own name. They can access Bitcoin at will.

Along with the consumer-focused face, the platform also offers Swan Private for high-net-worth businesses and individuals. One could seek expert advice regarding keeping Bitcoin in custody, buy a large amount of BTC or add Bitcoin to a company balance sheet. Swan Private helps enterprises and high-net-worth individuals build generational wealth with BTC.

Swan has on-board experts with extensive experience in the Bitcoin ecosystem to assist private clients in making a customized plan for saving in BTC. Investors get to talk to a knowledgeable resource rather than a clueless customer service, where one is more likely to exchange emails with a less experienced professional.

Adviser services of Swan facilitate the integration of Bitcoin into client portfolios, including reporting and rebalancing. Reporting provides users with a detailed overview of their accounts. Portfolio rebalancing refers to the realignment of the asset components within an investment portfolio to adjust the associated risks. Rebalancing involves buying or selling Bitcoin to reach the target level of asset allocation.

Swan also brings along an open-source product suite for Bitcoin custody and usage, along with multisignature software. The members can give Bitcoin to colleagues, friends and family as well.

How Swan helps “save” in Bitcoin

Thanks to their approach to give altcoins at bay, Swan enables customers to “save” in Bitcoin rather than “trade” the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is among the few digital assets that are regarded not to be a security but a property in United States jurisdiction for the reason that it raises no capital and has no centralized marketing organization.

The decentralized character of Bitcoin became evident in 2017, when several BTC mining companies, manufacturers of mining equipment, large exchanges and a bunch of key Bitcoin developers collaborated to alter block size of blockchain, but a globally distributed node network thwarted their plans. Bitcoin proved itself to be sufficiently decentralized and immutable in a real-world test.

With  Swan, one can set up a recurring daily, weekly, or monthly purchase plan for Bitcoin. Most regulatory jurisdictions regard such a plan as saving. After purchases are made, investors can withdraw BTC manually or set up an automated withdrawal plan that transfers Bitcoin to their own wallet. They can also pause or cancel Swan plans anytime they want.

Quite contrary to the prevalent approach to cryptocurrency investments, Swan takes into account bear markets as well. Most investors buy Bitcoin in the hope that its price will be on the upswing continuously, which is simply not possible as bear markets will always be there. Taking into account the bear markets helps flatten the possible shocks when the coin is on a downward spiral.

How Swan Bitcoin reduces expenses

Acting as a sort of savings account, Swan Bitcoin automates purchasing BTC and offers users an easily accessible and frictionless way to acquire Bitcoin. For competitive fees, users can sign up for recurring Bitcoin purchases. Focusing exclusively on BTC, Swan is able to make purchasing Bitcoin effortless and bring down the costs substantially.

Swan has deployed the method of dollar-cost averaging to incentivize preventing Bitcoin overspending or selling. What Swan brings to the table is completely different from the run-of-the-mill exchanges that have to deal with an array of altcoins as well, making the process much more complex and upping the associated costs. Swan, as a Bitcoin-specific platform, is inherently designed to resolve these issues.

As a Bitcoin-only platform, Swan doesn’t have to run a node to verify altcoins, unlike an exchange, enabling it to eliminate steep hardware, bandwidth and human resource expenses and pass on the benefits to users. It is designed for long-term savings plans and users can save money on fees they would typically incur when making a string of small Bitcoin purchases.

Multi-coin platforms also have to run a huge compliance department. The presence of so many coins on a single platform complicates the security situation, which is something none of the stakeholders can afford. All these factors translate into higher trading fees. When one buys Bitcoin on an exchange, they are simply subsidizing these expenses for the exchange. 

Is Swan Bitcoin safe

Bitcoin one buys via Swan lies with Prime Trust, reputed for holding billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency. This is unlike an exchange-based purchase where Bitcoin lies directly in control of the exchange and not the user. 

Moreover, Bitcoin is stored with Prime Trust under the user’s name, making the user the sole legal owner. The cryptocurrency lies in offline cold-storage wallets. For better security of the accounts, Swan uses one-time passcodes that are emailed to the user in place of username and password logins.

Even in an extreme case of Swan winding up, users will have legal control of funds stored within Prime Trust. Swan keeps minimal data of users to be compliant with regulations. It encrypts all such data with military-grade AES-256 and traffic with industry-standard TLSv1.2 encryption. Transfer of Bitcoin and fiat cannot happen without the authorization of users.

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Former Goldman Sachs banker explains why Wall Street gets Bitcoin wrong

According to John Haar, who used to count himself within the ranks of the traditional finance field, a fundamental understanding of "sound money" is preventing Wall Street from embracing Bitcoin.

John Haar, a former asset manager at financial institution Goldman Sachs believes the lack of support from “legacy finance” for Bitcoin stems from a poor understanding of the cryptocurrency. 

Haar’s views were expressed in an essay on Aug. 14, which was originally sent to private clients of Bitcoin brokerage platform Swan Bitcoin. Haar previously spent 13 years at Wall Street asset management giant Goldman Sachs, before joining Swan Bitcoin as managing director of Private Client Services in April 2022. 

The essay explains that not only do people in “legacy finance” fail to understand what he considers one of Bitcoin’s (BTC) primary principles, the idea of sound money is lost on them in general, which Haar says leads them to negative opinions about the crypto.

“After many conversations, I can say that if there are people in legacy finance who have a well-researched stance on why Bitcoin is not a good form of money or why Bitcoin will not succeed, I was not able to find them.”

Haar noted that he became interested in Bitcoin in 2017 based on the hype he saw in traditional media about it. 

He believes that the history and fundamentals of Bitcoin made him excited to discuss it with anyone, adding that Bitcoin "improves upon gold's shortcomings."

On the other hand, Haar notes that negativity from Wall Street is a result of six different reasons stemming from a lack of research on Bitcoin and an understanding of history. He acknowledged that becoming familiar with the Bitcoin lexicon and its underlying principles is a “daunting task,” but that people in legacy finance do themselves no favors by pretending to understand them.

“It’s much more common for one to pretend to be well-versed on a given topic and take a strong opinion regardless of one’s underlying knowledge — and this is especially true for a topic that touches the world of investing.”

He also believes conditioning through governmental central planning, people generally following the consensus, only thinking about its application in developed countries, and a desire to maintain the status quo are also contributing factors. Haar said that these last four aspects conspire in various ways to act as a shield for legacy finance to stand behind in defense of the financial systems that are already in place.

Related: Crypto-focused venture firm Dragonfly acquires hedge fund: Bloomberg

Haar adds that “There is nothing inherently bad about these things,” but notes that these behaviors prevent people in legacy finance from becoming independent thinkers and early adopters of new technology.

He also pointed out that the people in legacy finance are often highly specialized in their field, which he suggests has the tendency to give those people tunnel vision of their own world. 

“They earn a living by knowing the specifics of their corner of the financial services sector. There is little incentive for them to examine the fundamentals of the system.”

Ethereum-Based Memecoin That’s Up Over 900% in Seven Months About To Break Out, According to Top Crypto Trader

Hackers Access Client Data on Bitcoin (BTC) Investing Platforms Following Third-Party Breach

Two notable players in the crypto investing space are responding after a malicious actor gained access to customer data through internet marketing company HubSpot. Among the over two dozen HubSpot clients affected was the crypto lending platform BlockFi, which took to Twitter to inform customers about the extent of the data breach and what users […]

The post Hackers Access Client Data on Bitcoin (BTC) Investing Platforms Following Third-Party Breach appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Ethereum-Based Memecoin That’s Up Over 900% in Seven Months About To Break Out, According to Top Crypto Trader