Swan Bitcoin Review: Stacking Up Fees, DCA, and Best Features

Swan Bitcoin is a user-friendly crypto trading app that allows users to automate recurring Bitcoin purchases, or just purchase BTC as they prefer.

Swan Bitcoin is a user-friendly crypto trading app that allows users to automate recurring Bitcoin purchases, or just purchase BTC as they prefer.

The Swan team aims to onboard 10 million Bitcoin users, helping educate holders in a world where cryptocurrency investments can be somewhat overwhelming to new investors.

Why 10 million? Swan views its mission to create a burgeoning support base of pro-Bitcoin U.S. citizens– It believes that even just a 3% minority population is capable of holding a pro-Bitcoin legislative environment.

Swan Bitcoin differentiated itself in that it doesn’t bill itself anything more complex than a means to buy Bitcoin with features like automated purchase plans, lower-than-average transaction fees, and a “Swan Private” for high-net-worth individuals. It also encourages users to take full custody of their Bitcoin as soon as possible, and it does offer custodial solutions for users who don’t mind third-party custody. 

Our in-depth Swan Bitcoin review covers everything you need to know about the platform, including its pros and cons, so you can decide whether or not it’s suitable for you, such as.

• How Swan Bitcoin works
• What is Swan Private?
• Is Swan Bitcoin safe to use?
• The Pros And Cons 
• The team behind The Project
• Which cryptocurrencies are supported on the platform
• The fee structure
• Customer Support
• Whether Swan Bitcoin is worth using

If you’re looking for that sweet Swan Bitcoin sign-up bonus.… here it is. You can get $10 when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

How Does Swan Bitcoin Work?

The Swan Bitcoin app simplifies the Bitcoin buying process tremendously, at a decent cost-savings compared to similar offerings. Swan charges a 0.99% fee for Bitcoin buys. Comparatively, Coinbase would charge 1.49%, with some users seeing as high as 9.93% for smaller purchases.

Swan offers:

• A one-time purchase using a wire transfer or ACH
• Recurring payments with the Swan Bitcoin Automatic plan

Swan makes dollar-cost averaging a fairly seamless process. In the Swan automatic plan, investors can choose the amount they want to save in Bitcoin, making daily, weekly, or monthly investments. Once selected, the app will begin converting traders’ USD into bitcoin, buying Bitcoin automatically when the price goes down through an investment process known as dollar-cost averaging. 

Direct confirmations are sent to users once a Bitcoin withdrawal is made. Traders can withdraw their Bitcoin manually or choose an auto-withdraw plan to withdraw Bitcoin to their wallet once purchases are complete. 

Swan Bitcoin also provides users with a referral program known as the ‘Swan Force Referral Affiliate Program’ to boost its user base. Users who refer someone to the platform earn 0.25% of the referral’s total amount in Bitcoin. However, this is smaller than exchanges such as Binance, which offers up to 40% commission for each person a user refers. 

Swan Private: Bitcoin Buying for High-Net-Worth Individuals 

Swan launched Swan Private to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals and corporations who want to build “generational wealth with Bitcoin.” 

The service is designed for individuals looking to buy at least $100,000 worth of Bitcoin and provides them with several unique benefits, including:

• Direct access to the Swan Private Team
• No limits on wire transfers
• Guidance on self-custody of private keys
• Tax assistance

Swan works with Fortress Trust and Bakkt as custodians of record, and it uses BitGo for cold storage. It also allows users to move Bitcoin into their own wallets, including offline cold storage wallets, through a legal trust account.  Swan private fees will differ between accounts and transactions and can be discussed with the Swan Private Team.

Is Your Money on Swan Bitcoin Safe? 

Swan Bitcoin is considered a safe Bitcoin purchasing platform. On the company’s Security page, Swan encourages its users to take custody of their own Bitcoin as soon as possible. It provides free and automated withdrawals, as well as a support page to answer any questions or concerns related to withdrawing funds. 

Let’s say you open a Swan Bitcoin account today. You’ll see a terms of service agreement with a custodian determined appropriate for your account. When you sign the agreement, you establish a direct relationship with the custodian. Swan will facilitate your interaction with the custodian, but if Swan becomes unavailable for whatever reason, users can contact their custodian directly.

Bitcoin purchased through Swan is held in cold storage with the above-qualified custodians. Swan also independently audits the Bitcoin reserves in cold storage against ledger balances at that specific custodian, essentially making sure whoever is storing your funds isn’t partaking in any funny business like rehypothecation.

Swan currently works with Fortress Trust and Bakkt as custodians of record, and it uses BitGo for cold storage.

You have the final say on authorizing your custodian of record via Swan to move your Bitcoin from your cold storage custodian.

It’s worth noting that prior to its current partners, Swan Bitcoin used Prime Trust, a cryptocurrency custodian that filed bankruptcy in June 2023. This filing came after Nevada regulators placed Prime Trust into receivership, after having determined it was insolvent and unable to service its customers. It was found that Prime Trust’s parent company lost $8 million in the TerraUSD fiasco.

Swan Bitcoin, however, had moved its users’ funds to BitGo prior to the collapse, seemingly by sheer coincidence to move away from Prime Trust.

Not luck AND didn’t know.

We’d been prepping to move for 9 months, had already moved some users/states to Bitgo, and pulled the trigger when PT lost Connecticut bc that regulator was going to force the sale of user BTC.

If a custodian keeps losing states you need to change. You…

— Cory Klippsten | Swan.com 🦢 #Bitcoin (@coryklippsten) June 28, 2023

Luck or thoughtful strategy, we (as well as Swan Bitcoin) recommend users use their own hardware wallets rather than relying on a third party. However, an important corollary, know proper hardware wallet best practices– you don’t want to be your own worst enemy, either!

What Currencies Does Swan Bitcoin Support?

As of June 2022, the Swan Bitcoin app only accepts ACH transfers from US users and wire transfers for international users (this applies to all countries not on the OFAC list, though payments can only be made in USD. 

Once traders have created an account, they must link their bank account with Swan. While most banks are accepted, the chances of acceptance are higher when using national banks instead of regional banks or credit unions. 

Originally, Swan Bitcoin was only available to US citizens, however, it has since expanded to the UK, France, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Australia, and other countries not on the OFAC list. However, citizens outside of the US need to use Swan Bitcoin International to register on the platform. Users can currently access Swan through its website, though apps are being built for Android and iOS. 

As of June 2022, the platform only offers Bitcoin as an investment option, which can only be purchased in USD. Margin and leverage trading are unavailable, and no plans exist to expand their offerings. Instead, Swan aims to develop its reputation as a Bitcoin specialist. 

Fees on the platform depend on the type of purchase and the amount of BTC in the transaction. Here’s how they work. 

Swan Bitcoin Fees

Swan moved from a complicated pricing structure to a straight-up 0.99% fee for Bitcoin buys. 

There are no storage, performance, or withdrawal fees, and the fees for recurring buys have been ranked the lowest in the US. Based on individual transactions, Swan’s trading fees are between 23-80% lower than alternative trading platforms. 

Swan Bitcoin: Pros and Cons

So, is Swan Bitcoin right for you? Let’s explore.

Swan Bitcoin Pros

Swan Bitcoin seems to be a great tool for the “set it and forget it” crowd, who just want to pick a dollar amount to purchase Bitcoin at a time period of their choice– for example, $100 for every bi-monthly paycheck.

A few other benefits we’ve identified include:

• It reduces emotional investing: With an automatic dollar-cost averaging (DCA) plan, investors can avoid emotional investing with Bitcoin fluctuations. Instead of attempting to buy the dip every time, there’s a drop, investments will be made automatically to build a user’s portfolio.
• Makes Bitcoin purchasing easy: Cryptocurrency can be a tad overwhelming for beginners. Decentralized exchanges, buying crypto with crypto, gas fees– a whole dictionary of slang is a lot to take in. The bitcoin buying process on Swan Bitcoin is pretty straightforward and makes it extremely easy to buy Bitcoin without ever needing to understand cryptocurrency. Simply create your account, connect your bank account, and everything is sorted for you. 
• Straightforward fees: It costs 0.99% to buy Bitcoin.
• Free withdrawals: The fact that Swan encourages you to withdraw your Bitcoin illuminates their business model– they just want to charge you fees for purchasing crypto. This is a breath of fresh air for companies that encouraged users to keep funds on their platform, while exploiting users’ crypto in various risky investing pursuits without disclosing it, like Celsius Network.

CoinCentral readers can get $10 of Bitcoin when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

Swan Bitcoin Cons

The Swan Bitcoin cons are just about what you’d expect from the typical cryptocurrency-buying app, and nothing really stands out as too problematic.

• Limited payment methods: Payments can only be made using ACH transfers in the US and wire transfers for international traders.
• Limited text service: Swan Bitcoin notifies its users regarding transactions through texts; however, these services are unavailable to all users. Text services are not available for individuals in the following countries: Australia, Finland, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, China, Dubai, and Namibia. In addition to this, Swan has announced that its services will not be available in: North Korea, Cuba, Nigeria, and Iran.
• Fees: Yes, while Swan Bitcoin’s fees are low compared to Coinbase, there are cheaper (but more complex) options on the market.
• Custodial services: This has less to do with Swan, as it’s working with well-regarded custodial partners, but a trust void for third-party custody services after the debacles of 2022, has given us pause to question which custodial services are actually legit. 

Company Profile: Swan Bitcoin

Swan Bitcoin was created in 2019 by Cory Klippsten (CEO) and Yan Pritzker (CTO) and was officially launched to the public in March 2020. 

Cory has an MBA from the University of Chicago and had formerly worked at Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Google, and McKinsey & Co. before shifting to the venture capital sector. In this niche, he worked as an advisor for over a decade and continues to advise companies such as Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) while working as the CEO of Swan Bitcoin. 

Yan started his career in software development and startup co-founder roles, helping co-found Reverb, which was acquired in 2019 for $275 million. Yan also wrote Investing Bitcoin, one of the best-selling books on the Bitcoin protocol. 

Since launching Swan Bitcoin, Cory and Yan have hired several Bitcoin experts to expand their team and scale their services. These include:

• Andy Edstrom: Swan’s head of advisor services
• Stephan Livera: Swan’s head of international services. Stephan was an early Bitcoin adopter and is also a top cryptocurrency podcaster. 

The team has also emphasized social media through YouTube videos, Twitter spaces, and interviews with industry experts where they discuss the current crypto trends. 

Swan Bitcoin Customer Support

Overall, Swan Bitcoin’s customer support has received excellent feedback from users. Swan bitcoin reviews average 4.3/5 on Trustpilot, with 76% of all reviews being five stars. This is significantly better than alternative platforms such as Coinbase, which has an average rating of 1.6/5. 

It has been described as “all about customer service” in reviews, with the customer support team being “fast” and “responsive.” If a user has an issue, they can contact Swan Bitcoin via:

Online submission: https://help.swanbitcoin.com/hc/en-us/requests/new 

Phone: +1 (218) 379 7926. 

Phone lines are open Monday – Friday, 7 AM – 3 PM Pacific. 

The ticketing system for online submission aims to complete all issues within 24 hours. 

The team can also be contacted on social media through Twitter and Facebook.

Final Thoughts: Is Swan Bitcoin Legit? 

Swan Bitcoin is a promising new tool for people who want to buy Bitcoin, whether that be in individual self-directed orders or in automated buys. 

Perhaps Swan’s most significant stand-out feature is its free withdrawals and encouragement of users to self-custody their assets, making it possible for someone to create recurring BTC buys, which are automatically sent to their Ledger Nano S, Trezor, or software wallet. 

It also gives users the option to custody their assets with verified third-party custodians, which are audited by the Swan team. Fortress Trust and Bakkt also act as custodians of record.

CoinCentral readers can get $10 of Bitcoin when signing up for Swan Bitcoin.

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