Swan Bitcoin App Review, Fees and Benefits
Swan Bitcoin is a crypto trading app that helps automate Bitcoin purchases with one-time and recurring purchase options. It works similar to a savings account, giving investors an accessible, easy-to-use way to buy Bitcoin without requiring any crypto knowledge.
The project aims to integrate 10 million Bitcoin users, helping educate holders in a world where investing in cryptocurrency can be somewhat overwhelming for 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 have created one of the most in-depth Swan Bitcoin reviews, covering everything you need to know about the platform, including pros and cons, so you can decide whether it’s right for you or not. We cover:
- How Swan Bitcoin works
- What is Swan Private?
- Is Swan Bitcoin safe to use?
- Advantages and disadvantages
- The team behind The Project
- Which cryptocurrencies are supported on the platform
- The fee structure
- Customer service
- 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 is created, traders can purchase 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, make daily, weekly or monthly investments. Once selected, the app will begin converting traders’ USD into Bitcoin savings, buying Bitcoin automatically when the price drops 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 for Bitcoin at the current market price.
Prime Trust is known among the best industry players including Strike, Binance, OKexand Bittrexfor Bitcoin investments.
To keep Swan users updated, direct confirmations are sent to users when a Bitcoin withdrawal is made. Traders can withdraw Bitcoin manually or choose an automatic withdrawal schedule to withdraw Bitcoin to their wallet when purchases are completed.
Swan Bitcoin also provides users with a referral program known as ‘Swan Force Referral Affiliate Program’ to increase its user base. Users who refer someone to the platform earn 0.25% of the referral’s total amount in Bitcoin. However, this is less than exchanges such as e.g Binancewhich 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 companies looking to build “generational wealth with Bitcoin”.
The service is designed for people who want 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 restrictions on bank transfers
- Guidance on self-deposit for private keys
- Tax assistance
All 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 vary 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. When an investor hands over their details, their money is transferred to a Nevada-licensed company called Prime Trust. Swan also complies with the Center For Internet Security Benchmarks for security standards.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Swan Bitcoin
Benefits
Reduces emotional investment
With an automatic dollar cost averaging (DCA) plan, investors can avoid emotional investing with Bitcoin fluctuations. Instead of trying to buy the dip every time there is a drop, investments will be made automatically to build a user’s portfolio.
Make Bitcoin Investments Easy
If you are new to cryptocurrency, it can be a little overwhelming. Decentralized exchanges, buying crypto with crypto, gas fees, and a whole dictionary of slang to take in. Swan Bitcoin makes it extremely easy to buy Bitcoin without ever having to understand cryptocurrency. Just create your account, link your bank account and everything is sorted for you.
Lucrative fee structure
There are many fee options for users, including upfront payments and pay-per-transaction options. If traders are already on a $50 per week prepaid plan, fees are as low as 0.99%. For those without a plan, Swan fees can go up to 2.29%, which is still quite low for Bitcoin investments. See our Fees section below for more information on the fee structure.
Cons
Limited payment methods
One downside of Swan Bitcoin is its limited payment options. Payments can only be made with ACH transfers in the US and wire transfers for international merchants.
Limited text service
Swan Bitcoin notifies its users of transactions through texts; however, these services are not available to all users. Text services are not available to individuals in the following countries:
- Australia
- Finland
- Saudi Arabia
- New Zealand
- China
- Dubai
- Namibia
In addition to this, Swan has announced that their services will not be available in:
- North Korea
- Cuba
- Nigeria
- Iran
Complex fee structure
While the fee structure can be tailored to your investment, it is also confusing. With so many options available, it can be difficult for users to understand which Swan fees are best for them and which 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 officially launched to the public in March 2020.
Cory holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and previously worked at Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Google and McKinsey & Co before moving into 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 CEO of Swan Bitcoin.
Starting his career in software development and co-founding roles for startups, Yan helped 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 Advisory 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 rooms and interviews with industry experts discussing the current crypto trends. These topics are also an important selling point for the blog Swan signal.
As of Q3 2022, the team is also looking to recruit for Bitcoiner Jobs and is expanding their network through Bitcoiner Events.
Which 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, although payments can only be made in USD.
Once traders have created an account, they must link their bank account to Swan and allow ACH transfers from Prime Trust. While most banks are accepted, your chances of being accepted are higher when you use national banks instead of regional banks or credit unions.
Initially, Swan Bitcoin was only available to US citizens, but it has since expanded to the UK, France, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Australia and other countries not on the OFAC list. However, citizens outside the US must use Swan Bitcoin international to register on the platform. Users can currently access Swan through its website, although apps are being built for Android and iOS.
From June 2022, the platform only offers Bitcoin as an investment option, which can only be purchased in USD. Margin and leverage trading is unavailable and no plans exist to expand their offerings. Instead, Swan aims to develop his 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
The fees are based on the amount of Bitcoin purchased and will vary from one transaction to the next. There are no storage, performance or withdrawal fees, and recurring purchase fees have been ranked as the lowest in the US. Based on individual transactions, Swan’s trading fees are between 23-80% lower than alternative trading platforms. Here is an overview of the different fees on the website.
Instant purchase
If traders have a weekly prepaid plan of $50 per week or have already purchased over $5000 worth of Bitcoin in the last year, instant purchase fees are 0.99%. For those who do not have a weekly plan, the fees are 1.49%.
Bank transfers
All bank transfers are charged a fixed fee of 0.99%.
Repeat purchase
Once merchants have signed up for a savings plan, they can choose between two payment plans:
A prepaid annual fee or a pay-as-you-go option.
The annual fee is a simple lump sum, while the pay-as-you-go option is a small fee paid per transaction.
Prepaid annual price
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 of $50+, the annual fee is 0.99%.
Pay as you go
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 prices and should be discussed directly with the Swan Private team.
Swan Bitcoin Customer Support
Overall, Swan Bitcoin’s customer support has received good feedback from users. Swan bitcoin reviews average 4.3/5 on Trustpilot, with 76% of all reviews rated five stars. This is significantly better than alternative platforms such as e.g Coin basewhich 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 a problem, they can contact Swan Bitcoin via:
Online submission: https://help.swanbitcoin.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Telephone: +1 (218) 379 7926.
Phone lines are open Monday – Friday, 7am – 3pm Pacific.
The electronic submission ticketing system aims to complete all issues within 24 hours.
The team can also be contacted on social media through Twitter and Facebook.
Is Swan Bitcoin Legal?
Swan Bitcoin creates a bridge between traditional savings methods and Bitcoin investment, making it easier for new cryptocurrency users to invest without using complex crypto exchanges.
With multiple “save” options, one-time payment options and Swan Private for high net worth individuals, the platform can appeal to all types of Bitcoin holders, from beginners to the more advanced.
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 offering by limiting its services exclusively to Bitcoin, with excellent reviews across the board.
As cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, in particular, become a popular household term, it is possible that Swan Bitcoin could one day become the number one investment platform for Bitcoin investors if it continues to meet the needs of its users.