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Swan Bitcoin is a bitcoin-only company from Calabasas, California, founded in 2019 by Cory Klippsten and aimed squarely at people who want to accumulate bitcoin slowly and hold it themselves. Our verdict: a thoughtful service for savers, retirement accounts and people who want help with self-custody, with a straightforward 1% fee and a company history that has had more drama than its calm product suggests.
| Founded | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Calabasas, California, USA |
| Coins | Bitcoin only |
| Fees | 1% on buys and 1% on sells, first $250 of buys fee-free; $0 bitcoin and cash withdrawals; 0.03%/month custody fee if you leave coins with Swan, waived with auto-withdrawals on |
| Custody | Custodial via regulated third-party custodians (BitGo Trust; Bakkt for New York; Equity Trust for IRAs); free automatic withdrawals to your own wallet; Swan Vault 2-of-3 multisig where you hold two keys |
| Best for | Long-term savers who want a bitcoin-only plan that automatically moves coins to their own wallet, or a bitcoin IRA |
Compare Swan Bitcoin side by side with other exchanges
What it is
Swan calls itself “The Real Bitcoin Company” and sells only bitcoin. Like River, it is a brokerage: you buy at a quoted price from Swan rather than trading against other users on an order book.
Its defining feature is auto-withdrawal. You set a recurring buy, and Swan automatically sends the accumulated bitcoin to a wallet address you control, for free, on a schedule. The idea is that you never need to trust Swan with your coins for long.
Around that Swan has built a bitcoin IRA (a retirement account whose custodian is Equity Trust), Swan Vault (a multisig setup where you hold two of three keys on hardware devices and Swan holds the third as backup), Swan Sovereign (guided self-custody where Swan never touches your keys), and Swan Private for larger clients. Swan has served New York residents since November 2025.
Fees
Swan simplified its pricing in 2025 and its fee page, as of 2026, promises “no fee ladders, no tiers.” An older structure that made the first $10,000 fee-free is gone; many third-party reviews still quote it, so ignore them.
| Item (as of 2026) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Buying bitcoin | 1%, with no fee on a new client’s first $250 |
| Selling bitcoin | 1% |
| Bitcoin and cash withdrawals | $0, always |
| Swan Safe custody (leaving coins with Swan) | 0.03% of balance per month; $0 with auto-withdrawals on |
| Swan Vault multisig | $30 per month up to $150,000, then 0.02% per month |
| Swan IRA | 0.02% of assets per month ($20 minimum), plus 1% on trades |
| Swan Sovereign | $25 per month |
Swan does not publish a spread, the gap between its quote and the market price, and we could not verify whether one applies, so compare the quoted price against a public chart before a large buy. Note that 1% every time is higher than River’s zero-fee recurring plan or Strike’s fee-free recurring buys. Swan ran a promotion cutting the fee to 0.50% from July 21 to September 8, 2026; it has ended.
Buying bitcoin step by step
- Sign up on Swan’s website with your email, then continue in the web app or phone app.
- Verify your identity with a government ID and address.
- Enable two-factor authentication in your account settings.
- Link your bank account. Swan funds purchases by ACH or wire; there are no card buys.
- Choose a one-time buy or, better, a recurring plan (daily, weekly or monthly). Your first $250 of buys is fee-free.
- Turn on auto-withdrawal. Add the receiving address from your own wallet, pick a threshold or schedule, and Swan will send coins there for free, which also waives the custody fee.
Security and trust
How your bitcoin is held
Swan does not hold customer bitcoin itself. It uses regulated third-party custodians, chiefly BitGo Trust (chartered in South Dakota), plus Bakkt for New York clients and Equity Trust for IRAs, in segregated accounts under your name. Swan’s custody page says neither it nor the custodian may lend or reuse your coins, and Swan reports a SOC 2 Type II audit. There is no published proof of reserves.
Incidents and disputes
Swan’s own platform has never been hacked, but two marketing vendors leaked customer names and emails in 2022. The bigger episode was Prime Trust, the custodian Swan used until 2023. Swan moved all client bitcoin out in May and June 2023, weeks before Prime Trust was shut down by regulators and went bankrupt; no Swan customer lost funds. In May 2026 the Prime Trust bankruptcy estate sued Swan for roughly $970 million, alleging Swan had been tipped off. Swan says customer assets held at a trust company cannot be clawed back for other creditors. The case is pending.
In July 2024 Swan cancelled planned IPO preparations, laid off staff and shut its mining business, then spent two years in litigation with former employees and the stablecoin issuer Tether over that mining venture; Swan dropped its main suit in June 2026. Swan raised new funding in October 2025 and says it plans to try for a public listing again.
None of this touched customer bitcoin, which is the point of using outside custodians and auto-withdrawal. But it is a livelier history than the other bitcoin-only services here.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free withdrawals and an auto-withdraw feature that makes self-custody the default.
- Coins held in segregated accounts at regulated custodians and never lent out.
- Real options for holders: IRA, multisig Vault, guided self-custody, and availability in New York.
Cons
- 1% on every buy and sell, with only $250 fee-free, beats few rivals on price.
- A turbulent corporate history and a pending 2026 lawsuit from the Prime Trust estate.
- No proof of reserves, and some pricing (Swan Private, spread) is not published.
Who it’s for
Swan makes sense for someone who wants a savings plan that ends with bitcoin in their own wallet without thinking about it, who wants bitcoin inside a retirement account, or who wants hand-holding on multisig. If you are in New York and want a bitcoin-only company, Swan and Strike are your two choices.
If the lowest recurring cost matters most, River and Strike both offer fee-free recurring buys. This is education, not financial or tax advice.
Next
- How to buy bitcoin: the general process.
- Compare all the exchanges.
- Wallets and self-custody: setting up the wallet your auto-withdrawals go to.