Swan Bitcoin is a crypto trading app that helps automate Bitcoin purchases with options for one-time and recurring purchases. It works similarly to a savings account, providing investors with an accessible, user-friendly way to buy Bitcoin without needing prior crypto knowledge.
The project aims to onboard 10 million Bitcoin users, helping educate holders in a world where cryptocurrency investments can be somewhat overwhelming to new investors.
The platform offers many Bitcoin investors lower-than-average transaction fees, automated investment plans, and Swan Private for high-net-worth individuals.
We’ve created one of the most in-depth Swan Bitcoin reviews, covering 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. We cover:
- 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
How Does Swan Bitcoin Work?
Swan Bitcoin makes it cheaper and more accessible for traders to buy Bitcoin through the Swan bitcoin app. Once an account has been set up, traders can buy Bitcoin through two different methods:
- A one-time purchase using wire transfer or ACH (Automated clearing house)
- Recurring payments with the Swan Bitcoin Automatic plan
With 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 savings, buying Bitcoin automatically when the price goes down through an investment process known as dollar-cost averaging.
Swan buys Bitcoin through Prime Trust. Once a user has chosen how much they want to invest, the funds are transferred to Prime Trust, which executes a trade to exchange their fiat into Bitcoin at the current market price.
Prime Trust is known amongst the top industry players, including Strike, Binance, OKex, and Bittrex, for Bitcoin investments.
To keep Swan users in the loop, 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.
What Is Swan Private?
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
All of the brokerage services available with Swan Private are backed by Prime Trust, allowing 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 Swan Bitcoin safe?
Swan Bitcoin is one of the safest Bitcoin investment platforms available. Once an investor hands their details over, their funds are transferred to a Nevada-licensed company called Prime Trust. Swan also works per the Center For Internet Security Benchmarks for security standards.
Pros And Cons Of Swan Bitcoin
Pros
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 Investing Easy
If you’re new to cryptocurrency, it can be a little overwhelming. Decentralized exchanges, buying crypto with crypto, gas fees, and a whole dictionary of slang it’s a lot to take in. Swan Bitcoin 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.
Lucrative Fee Structure
There are plenty of fee options for users, including upfront payments and pay-per-transaction options. If traders are already on a prepaid plan of $50 per week, then fees are as low as 0.99%. For those not on a plan, Swan fees can go up to 2.29%, which is still pretty low for Bitcoin investments. Check out our Fees section below for more information about the fee structure.
Cons
Limited Payment Methods
One downside to Swan Bitcoin is its limited payment options. 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 not available to all users. Text services are not available for individuals in the following countries:
- Australia
- Finland
- Saudi Arabia
- New Zealand
- China
- Dubai
- Namibia
In addition to this, Swan has announced that its services will not be available in:
- North Korea
- Cuba
- Nigeria
- Iran
Complex Fee Structure
Although the fee structure can be tailored to your investment, it’s also confusing. With so many options available, it can be difficult for users to understand what Swan fees are best for them and what fees apply to their payment plan. Luckily, we’ve broken this down for you below.
About 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. These topics are also a key selling point of its blog Swan Signal.
As of Q3 of 2022, the team is also looking to recruit for Bitcoiner Jobs and is expanding their network through Bitcoiner Events.
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 need to link their bank account with Swan and allow ACH transfers from Prime Trust. While most banks are accepted, the chances of being accepted 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
Fees are based on the amount Bitcoin purchased and will vary from one transaction to the next. 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. Here’s a breakdown of the different fees on the site.
Instant Buys
If traders are on a weekly pre-paid plan of $50 per week or have already purchased over $5000 worth of Bitcoin in the last year, instant buy fees are 0.99%. For those not on a weekly plan, fees are 1.49%.
Wire Transfers
All wire transfers are charged a flat fee of 0.99%.
Recurring Purchases
Once traders have signed up for a savings plan, they can choose from two payment schedules:
A prepaid annual fee or a pay-as-you-go option.
The annual fee is a single lump sum, whilst the pay-as-you-go option is a small fee paid per transaction.
Prepay Annually Rate
For weekly purchases between $5-24, the annual fee is 1.99%.
For weekly purchases between $25-49, the annual fee is 1.49%.
For weekly purchases for $50+, the annual fee is 0.99%.
Pay As You Go Rate
Purchases between $5-24 are charged at a rate of 2.29%
Purchases between $25-49 are charged at a rate of 1.79%
Purchases over $50 are charged at a rate of 1.19%
Therefore, Swan Private fees may differ from these rates and should be discussed directly with the Swan Private team.
Swan Bitcoin Customer Support
Overall, Swan Bitcoins 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.
Is Swan Bitcoin Legit?
Swan Bitcoin creates a bridge between traditional saving methods and Bitcoin investing, making it easier for new cryptocurrency users to invest without using complex crypto exchanges.
With several ‘saving’ options, one-off-payment options, and Swan Private for high-net-worth individuals, the platform can be appealing for all types of Bitcoin holders, from newbies to the more advanced folks.
Unlike decentralized trading platforms, all Bitcoin purchases are considered safe and backed by Prime Trust, making it one of the safer options to buy Bitcoin.
Although the exact number of users is unknown, Swan has undoubtedly optimized its offer by limiting its services solely to Bitcoin, with outstanding reviews across the board.
With cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, in particular, becoming a popular household term, it’s possible that Swan Bitcoin could one day become the number one investment platform for Bitcoin investors should it continue to meet the needs of its users.
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