Swan Bitcoin Review

Hedge With Crypto aims to publish information that is factual and accurate as of the date of publication. For specific information about a cryptocurrency exchange or trading platform please visit that provider’s website. This information is general in nature and is for education purposes only. Hedge With Crypto does not provide financial advice nor does it take into account your personal financial situation. We encourage you to seek financial advice from an independent financial advisor where appropriate and make your own enquiries.

Bottom line:

Swan Bitcoin is a US-based Bitcoin-only exchange specializing in buying and selling Bitcoin. While the platform offers fiat-to-crypto support, users can only purchase BTC making the exchange unsuitable for those looking to invest in a diverse range of crypto assets. Primarily created as a beginner-centric platform, Swan Bitcoin doesn't offer advanced charting tools and only supports BTC spot buys.

As such, while the exchange could be adequate for beginners looking to buy Bitcoin, anyone wanting to access multiple markets or trading tools will need to find another crypto exchange to use.

How We Rated Swan Bitcoin

To highlight how Swan Bitcoin performs across core exchange metrics, we've awarded aspects of the site a score out of five and summarized our findings below.

Review Criteria	HWC Score
Features	3.5 / 5
Supported Fiat and Deposit Methods	3.5 / 5
Supported Crypto & Trading Pairs	1 / 5
Fees	3.5 / 5
Ease of Use	4.5 / 5
Customer support	3.5 / 5
Security Measures	4 / 5
Mobile App	4 / 5

Pros Explained

• Beginner-friendly. Being aimed at new investors, Swan Bitcoin is a simple platform that provides an easy way to buy Bitcoin. While the lack of features could be viewed as a negative, the simplistic nature of Swan Bitcoin makes it an ideal platform for investors making their first foray into the crypto market.
• Auto Buy Bitcoin. Swan Bitcoin has included a user-friendly way for customers to buy Bitcoin automatically at specific intervals. As such, the exchange is great for investors looking to accumulate Bitcoin slowly over longer periods.
• Zero withdrawal fees. In contrast to most crypto exchanges, Swan Bitcoin offers free BTC withdrawals, and Swan even covers the Bitcoin transaction network cost, making the platform great for investors looking to transfer their holdings to an external wallet.

Cons Explained

• High trading fee. While the fees charged by Swan Bitcoin have decreased over the past couple of years, at 0.99% per transaction, they're still far higher than the industry average and could quickly eat into potential profits.
• Only BTC is supported. One aspect of Swan Bitcoin likely to cause issues for some investors is its sole Bitcoin support. As users cannot buy any altcoins on the platform, the exchange is only suitable for investors exclusively interested in buying BTC.

Swan Bitcoin Compared & Alternatives

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Swan Bitcoin At a Glance

Swan Bitcoin is a stable and trustworthy exchange established in 2019 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The platform is geared toward beginner investors looking to buy Bitcoin and features a simplistic interface created with ease of use in mind. While the exchange is not regulated, all client funds are stored with Prime Trust, a Nevada charted trust company. This provides protection for assets such as fiat currencies, as well as for cryptocurrencies, and holds an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification.

Exchange Name	Swan Bitcoin
Features	Recurring Investments, Bitcoin Gifts, Referral Program, Swan Private
Accepted Fiat Currencies	USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, +15 Others
Deposit Methods	Wire Transfer, Direct Deposit
Supported Cryptocurrencies	Bitcoin (BTC)
Trading Pairs	1
Trading Fee	0.99%
Customer Support	Help Center, Ticket System
Security Measures	2FA, AES-256 Encryption, Prime Trust Custodial Services
Mobile App	Yes (Android and IOS)

Top Features on Swan Bitcoin Reviewed

Recurring Investments

For users looking to lower their risk exposure while purchasing Bitcoin, utilizing a strategy like dollar-cost averaging (DCA), Swan Bitcoin includes a system that enables users to set up recurring bitcoin purchases with daily, weekly, or monthly intervals totaling up to $2,500 per month.

Additionally, Swan has included a system enabling users to set up automatic withdrawals similar to its reoccurring buy feature. Combined with the exchange's offering of zero BTC withdrawal fees and getting cryptocurrency off the exchange and into cold storage is made incredibly easy.

Bitcoin Gifts

Swan Bitcoin has created a gifting system that enables users to share Bitcoin with other users. Although gift recipients must have an account with Swan which is detrimental to its usability, the system is a nice addition likely to appeal to crypto fanatics looking to get their friends and family involved in the industry.

Swan Bitcoin allows users to purchase and share Bitcoin with other Swan users through their application. By sending a gift to another user, Swan will walk them through the process of creating an account and convert the dollar value of the gift into Bitcoin.

Swan Force Referrals

To help spread the word about the Swan Bitcoin platform, the team has created Swan Force, a referral program for all users. Albeit a simple program, new customers referred by an existing user can earn $10 while the referee receives 25% of their trading fees for a year.

Swan Private

Swan Private offers personalized Bitcoin coaching to high-net-worth individuals and enables users to hold Bitcoin in their IRA, Roth, 401k, or trust fund. Exact pricing for Swan Private is not available, but there is a minimum BTC purchase requirement of $100,000. In addition to personalized coaching, incentives for Swan Private include private group sessions and insights about the crypto market.

Creating and Verifying a Swan Bitcoin Account

While users are initially required to create an account by entering and confirming an address, Swan Bitcoin is a regulated exchange with mandatory Know-Your-Customer requirements. Users must verify their identity by submitting a photo ID (passport, driving license), proof of address (bank statement, utility bill), and other personal details, including career, source of funds, and investment range. While some users receive instant verification, we found ID verification to be approved between roughly 6 to 12 hours.

Supported Fiat Currencies and Deposit Methods

While Swan doesn't support the purchase of many cryptocurrencies, the exchange does offer a good variety of deposit methods. Users can choose between wire transfers, ACH payments, and direct deposits using 20 fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, and CAD. While Swan is a suitable platform for Bitcoin investing, there are a few limits to be aware of.

• Instant buys (ACH). Minimum purchase of $10 and a maximum daily of $50,000.
• Recurring bitcoin purchases (ACH). $10 minimum, but a maximum of $1,426 daily or $10,000 monthly.
• Convert Now (Wire Transfers, Direct Deposit). $1 Minimum and $100,000 maximum per purchase with no daily, weekly, or monthly limits.

Supported Cryptocurrencies and Trading Pairs

Swan Bitcoin is an exchange focused on helping individuals acquire and hold Bitcoin. Rather than offering various markets like options and futures, Swan only provides the ability to buy Bitcoin through instant purchases or recurring payments. As such, Bitcoin is the only supported coin that can be acquired through Swan's application. Therefore, crypto enthusiasts looking to create a diverse portfolio of assets will need to look elsewhere.

Swan Bitcoin Fees

While creating our Swan Bitcoin review, we noticed that while the company doesn't offer the most competitive fees, it uses a straightforward cost structure that's clearly outlined. Bitcoin purchases are charged a 0.99% fee, while withdrawals are 100% free, including the network fee. Previously Swan utilized a volume-based fee structure that ranged from 0.99% to 1.99%. Additionally, the Swan Bitcoin platform also charged additional fees for non-prepaid buys, making the current fee structure far more enticing.

Compared to other exchanges in the USA, the fees on Swan Bitcoin are very high, meaning the platform doesn't offer great value for money. However, the offer of entirely free withdrawals is desirable and could be valuable in combination with the feature enabling users to automatically withdraw bitcoin at predetermined intervals. A comparison of Swan Bitcoin's fees to other platforms is shown below.

Exchange Name	Trading Fee
Crypto.com	0.075%
ByBit	0.1%
Swan Bitcoin	0.99%
Gemini	1.49%

Swan Bitcoin Ease of Use

While the Swan Bitcoin interface has been purpose-built to simplify buying Bitcoin, it uses a unique interface that could be difficult to get used to for some. With that said, Swan Bitcoin is designed as a beginner-centric platform; as such, all essential areas are visible and contain ample information.

Swan Bitcoin doesn't feature a complex trading interface with excessive details and complicated tools. Instead, the user can quickly deposit funds or link a bank account to make a spot purchase.

While the Swan Bitcoin web platform is limited in features, users can easily set up auto buys and reoccurring Bitcoin withdrawals. The customer just needs to navigate to the relevant section of the site and adjust either a slider or dropdown box with information regarding frequency and quantity.

Additionally, users can see their purchase history and the current funds in their account, view the amount of Bitcoin they have earned, edit their savings plan and purchase Bitcoin instantly, either for themselves or as gifts for others. Swan Bitcoin is a beginner-friendly platform to buy Bitcoin, but it lacks analysis tools, making it unusable for technical traders.

Swan Bitcoin App

While the Swan Bitcoin website was created with mobile users in mind, the team recently released a dedicated Swan Bitcoin app, enabling customers to easily access the platform while on the go. Available on Android and IOS, the Swan Bitcoin app currently has an average rating of 4.8 / 5 on the App Store.

Unfortunately, the Swan app is very barebones. While it's possible to buy Bitcoin on the app, users can only view a basic line chart and have no access to technical indicators or crypto charting tools. Furthermore, users wishing to buy BTC must link their bank account to the app. Because although wire transfers are supported, they must be completed on the web platform.

Although the lack of wire transfer support is detrimental for investors, the Swan Bitcoin app does offer the ability to make reoccurring buys using either the balance of a Swan account or a linked bank account. Additionally, Swan has included a treasure trove of educational material and content curated by notable figures in the Bitcoin community.

All in all, the Swan Bitcoin mobile app is limited in its features but still provides a simple way for investors to purchase Bitcoin while on the move. With that said, the lack of native support for wire transfers heavily impacts the app's usefulness.

Is Swan Bitcoin Safe?

Swan Bitcoin is a safe place to purchase and acquire Bitcoin, with users recommended to utilize two-factor authentication (2FA) and hold their assets in cold storage rather than on the Swan platform. Furthermore, client data is securely stored and obscured using AES-256 encryption.

Swan Bitcoin has partnered with Prime Trust to ensure the security of its users' assets, offering insurance coverage of up to $250,000 per depositor. Prime Trust holds any Bitcoin acquired through Swan in each user's name in secure cold storage wallets until transferred to an external wallet by the user. Swan Bitcoin's policies ensure that the exchange cannot access client assets.

While Swan Bitcoin doesn't divulge its exact security measures, the company has an excellent track record of protecting its customers. Additionally, through its partnership with Prime Trust, customers can feel safe knowing their assets are secure. For more information, read the Security page on the website.

Swan Bitcoin Customer Support

Swan Bitcoin offers support to its users with an extensive help center containing information on commonly asked questions like withdrawals, logins, and registration. Furthermore, the topics discussed in the help center are covered with considerable detail, making finding an answer to a question easy.

If a customer has a question not covered by the help center, they can create a ticket to receive email-based support. After reading Swan Bitcoin reviews and contacting support, the customer service team seems responsive and helpful. However, adding 24/7 live chat or a dedicated phone support number would be very beneficial.