Many or all companies we feature compensate us. Compensation and editorial research influence how products appear on a page. Personal Finance Swan Bitcoin Review 2025: Low-Fee, Secure Option to Invest Solely in Bitcoin Updated Apr 03, 2025 10-min read Reviewed by Daniel Kenitz Reviewed by Daniel Kenitz Expertise: Personal loans, gold, home equity, mortgages, investing, banking Learn more about Daniel Kenitz Learn More Crypto Platform Low transaction, entry, and maintenance fees Positive customer reviews for service and support for services like Swan Vault Well-reviewed apps for easy bitcoin purchases directly from bank accounts Multi-key security and cold storage to protect bitcoin Limited to bitcoin, no other crypto assets Lacks margin trading and advanced charts for experienced traders Love the idea of bitcoin but can’t wrap your head around how to buy it? Enter Swan Bitcoin, a platform for buying, managing, and storing bitcoin with minimal fees and enhanced features, like automatically recurring buys. Straightforward and featuring low fees and secure storage, Swan Bitcoin is a user-friendly educational platform with great customer support. But if you’re a beginner looking for more in the crypto world than just your first foray into bitcoin, you might want more than its services offer. Before you sign up, let’s do our own little swan dive into this firm so you understand exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Table of Contents Is Swan Bitcoin legit? How does it work? Swan Bitcoin fees Pros and cons FAQ Is Swan Bitcoin legit? Yes, Swan Bitcoin is legit. The internet is scattered with thousands of positive reviews for Swan Bitcoin—both as a platform and in the form of its app on the Apple and Google Play stores, where you can easily handle transactions from the convenience of your smartphone. People love the low fees—we’ll discuss the zero-fees-on-your-first-$10,000 structure in more detail, which makes signing up and buying bitcoin through the app a cinch. If you’re deeper into crypto, you may have concerns about self-storage: Can you custody your own bitcoin through Swan Bitcoin? As one user reports on the Apple Store, yes: I appreciate Swan Bitcoin because [it has] systems in place to encourage you to self-custody your coins. Just set up auto withdrawals, and you’re in business. Some customers report trouble accessing their bitcoin, but Swan Bitcoin is happy to educate you about self-custody, what it means, and how you can improve your own security. After all, you may need to handle some of it yourself if you’re not paying any fees for the moment. PlatformRatingNumber of reviewsTrustpilot4.3/51,229Google Play4.4/5 1,084Apple Store4.8/5~3,000Collected on March 19, 2025 How does Swan Bitcoin work? Swan Bitcoin is a platform and app suite designed to simplify buying, selling, and storing bitcoin. (And yes, only bitcoin. No other crypto.) It’s not a generalized personal finance company; it’s here to be your new bitcoin buddy. Swan’s goal is to make bitcoin more accessible to people who may not have purchased it before—though it’s not necessarily aimed at newbie investors alone. You can be either a newbie or an experienced investor who needs to set up recurring investments to dollar cost average (DCA) your way into the crypto asset, and Swan Bitcoin is more than happy to oblige. Bitcoin purchases Swan’s low fees and handy apps make it easy to buy bitcoin through the convenience of a smartphone. Buy instantly using a bank account or wire transfer, for example, and expect to pay no fees on your first $10,000 in bitcoin purchases (with a 0.99% transaction fee on purchases after that). Particularly fun are the daily, weekly, or monthly automatic purchases you can set up. Those are helpful for investors who know they want bitcoin but can’t afford major lump purchases. Swan IRA Even if you haven’t thought about bitcoin as a retirement strategy before, plenty of people do. And they want to own bitcoin in a tax-advantaged IRA that protects what they anticipate will be very healthy capital gains in the future. Swan offers Swan IRA, through which you can set up traditional or Roth IRAs with easy setups to purchase bitcoin. The bitcoin is stored securely, of course. Though this will limit your self-custody options (as retirement assets must be separate from your assets), it’s a flexible way of investing in bitcoin in a retirement account without much muss or fuss. Swan Vault Security is a primary concern for anyone getting into cryptocurrency for the first time—and for good reason. It’s not often that we make major investments in a large, decentralized network. Buying bitcoin won’t feel the same as buying gold, which is why you need assurances that your account will remain secure. Swan Bitcoin’s approach is to use Swan Vault. Featuring a Swan Vault “welcome package” that costs $159 to set up, there is a “cold storage” option: two Jade sign-in devices to authenticate your ownership of the bitcoin. Tip For the uninitiated, “cold storage” refers to keeping your bitcoin offline and away from the internet. That’s done through a hardware wallet, a physical device that manages the keys to your wallet. This protects it from hacking or online theft, giving you that additional layer of security. Your “vault” with Swan uses these two keys—plus the Cloud key, which Swan manages. If you’ve ever seen a submarine movie in which two commanding officers held “keys” before they could launch a missile, it’s a bit like that. The advantage of Swan Bitcoin is that since it services only one asset, it handles almost everything for you—cold storage options, customer service assistance with your “vault” setup, and $20/month pricing for unlimited support with any Swan Vault issues you may have. What are Swan Bitcoin fees? The fees are one of the best features of Swan Bitcoin: You’ll pay $0 in transaction fees on your first $10,000 in bitcoin purchases After reaching $10,000, you’ll only pay 0.99% in transaction fees Swan Vault costs $20/month for accounts up to $100,000 Above $100,000, you’ll pay 0.02% of the account value per month, up to a maximum of $416.67/month These fees are not industry standard. Many bitcoin and cryptocurrency platforms are happy to take your money off your hands—after all, they do the work of buying and selling bitcoin on your behalf. But Swan Bitcoin’s apparent strategy is to build a relationship with you—to be your go-to service for all things bitcoin and bitcoin security as you dip your toes into the cryptocurrency waters. The downside is that you have to be a bitcoin maximalist (someone who believes in the primacy of bitcoin among cryptocurrencies) for Swan Bitcoin to be an ideal solution. But if that’s you, it’s a great way to start investing. Swan Bitcoin pros and cons There are pros and cons to Swan Bitcoin as there are to any platform—and they may depend on your specific needs. Here’s what we found: Pros Fees Low transaction fees, zero entry fees, and low account maintenance fees make Swan an affordable option to invest in bitcoin. Customer service Swan Bitcoin has strong reviews for its customer service features with thousands of ratings online and includes full support for services like Swan Vault. Apps Well-reviewed apps (on Android and iOS phones) make buying bitcoin much simpler than many people anticipate, and you can do it directly from your bank account. Security Multi-key security maintains the integrity of your account, including cold storage options to keep your bitcoin away from online hackers. Cons Bitcoin-exclusive This isn’t a full-service cryptocurrency investing platform. Swan Bitcoin has bitcoin in its name, and that’s all it’s interested in—so if you want a more diverse portfolio of crypto assets, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Lack of advanced trading features If you’re trying to use margin trading or advanced charts, Swan Bitcoin is likely not the solution for you. How does Swan Bitcoin compare to alternatives? We compared Swan to four popular crypto IRAs. Swan Bitcoin vs. iTrustCapital In our iTrustCapital review, we noted how many crypto and other alternative assets you can trade through the platform, and spoiler alert: It’s far more than Swan offers. With iTrustCapital, you can even invest in assets like silver through your account, while Swan Bitcoin is all about that titular cryptocurrency. iTrustCapital does, however, lack the generous pricing structure of Swan Bitcoin, so you can expect to pay for that added flexibility. If you’re solely focused on a simple bitcoin solution and don’t need the extra bells and whistles of alternative assets, Swan Bitcoin is your likely winner here. Swan Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin IRA Bitcoin IRA has an established reputation online—thousands of five-star reviews—which makes it as trustworthy a bitcoin trading resource as Swan. It also offers more cryptocurrency options (over 75), which is useful if you see yourself as a more sophisticated trader in this burgeoning marketplace. So why might you choose Swan Bitcoin in this comparison? Pricing. Bitcoin IRA’s pricing can be as much as 2% on transactions, and you won’t get the generous bonus that comes with your first $10,000 of bitcoin purchases with Swan Bitcoin. If you’re just starting out and trying to stretch every dollar to its absolute limit, we think Swan Bitcoin gets the edge here. Swan Bitcoin vs. BitIRA BitIRA once charged monthly fees, but no longer, which makes it an intriguing competitor with Swan. BitIRA is, as you can tell by the name, focused on IRA custody, which means it’s limited to long-term retirement investors—and you may find more trading flexibility with Swan Bitcoin if you’re OK taking the tax hits on your transactions rather than working exclusively through an IRA. Note the $5,000 investing minimum with BitIRA as you get started, as well. Swan Bitcoin vs. Alto CryptoIRA Alto CryptoIRA’s variety of crypto choices—around 200, as high as we’ve reviewed—includes a $0 custody fee and a measly 1% transaction fee. And though it doesn’t offer the same zero-fee introductory deal Swan Bitcoin does, the fact that its ongoing fees are almost equal to Swan Bitcoin’s makes it a great alternative if you’re shopping around. Alto also gets high marks for its app trading platforms, especially on Apple devices. Remember that Swan Bitcoin extends to Android and iOS, which may be a clincher. These are two of the best bets for new investors who want minimal fees and a smooth customer service experience. How to invest with Swan Bitcoin Investing with Swan Bitcoin is as straightforward as it sounds—but if you’re new to bitcoin, a step-by-step guide couldn’t hurt. Open your account. You’ll sign up for the account with Swan online, providing basic information and going through a brief identity verification process to comply with regulations. It shouldn’t take too long to verify your information. Fund the account. Swan Bitcoin offers ACH transfers, bank transfers, and wire transfers. You’ll generally do best if you’re already located in the U.S. And if you’re setting up recurring deposits for your crypto investing, you can link your bank as well. Just remember that bank transfers often take a few days to process, which can feel like a lifetime in the world of cryptocurrencies. Start purchasing. You can set up those recurring purchases, but this is an optional step. Swan offers daily, weekly, and monthly recurring payments so you can DCA your way into bitcoin. If it’s down, you’ll buy the dip, and if it’s up, you’ll buy the spike. If you prefer the hands-off approach to investing in bitcoin and just want to dedicate a portion of your paycheck to it every two weeks, this can be the way to go. FAQ Is Swan good to buy bitcoin? Swan Bitcoin is a solid choice if you’re looking to buy and hold bitcoin. It focuses exclusively on bitcoin and offers features like automatic recurring purchases and low fees compared to other platforms. Plus, it encourages self-custody, meaning you can move your bitcoin to your wallet whenever you want. Why can’t I withdraw my bitcoin from Swan? If you can’t withdraw your bitcoin, it’s likely due to Swan’s holding period for ACH deposits. To prevent fraud, Swan locks bitcoin purchases for 10 days (or up to 30 days for larger purchases). Once the holding period is over, you can withdraw to your own wallet at any time. Who is behind Swan Bitcoin? Swan Bitcoin was founded by Cory Klippsten, a well-known advocate for bitcoin. He has a background in finance and tech, with experience at Google and Morgan Stanley. Klippsten is also involved in bitcoin-focused investment funds.