Swan’s Fastest Path to Self-Custody in Less Than 24 Hours

These past weeks have been turbulent as multiple firms paused withdrawals and raised concerns on operations.

At Swan, our commitment is to do what is best for Bitcoin and Bitcoiners. Our mission is to bring Bitcoin to 10 million new Bitcoiners, and Swan will continue to champion self-custody for Bitcoiners. These and other product concepts are explored in more detail at Swan Product Principles and the Third Rail.

This post clarifies the fastest way for Bitcoiners to go from fiat to cold storage in less than 24 hours, and announce new ways to automate Bitcoin purchases.  These services are applicable for individuals, businesses, and retirement savers.  

Direct Deposit

Direct Deposit is a fast way to purchase Bitcoin and move to self-custody within about 24 hours. It’s ideal for employees who want to purchase Bitcoin automatically with a portion of their paycheck. 

Employees can simply list the Routing Number and Account Number with their employer’s payroll system to send a portion of their paycheck to Swan.  

Funds will appear in Swan Balances as USD, and a Savings Plan can be created to purchase Bitcoin daily, weekly, or monthly from a Swan Balance. We have lots of other resources available if you’d like to learn more about how to set up recurring Bitcoin purchases with Swan.

Step 1: Set up the Savings Plan Details

Step 2: Select “Swan Balance” as the Payment Method

Step 3: Save Changes (note the fee is shown as 0% as the fee is paid at the time of deposit)

A new feature can Auto Convert this direct deposit to Bitcoin, ranging from 0% (meaning no USD will be auto converted) to 100% (meaning all Direct Deposit transfers are auto converted into Bitcoin). The Auto Convert slider is located on the Direct Deposit menu within the Swan Dashboard.

The Auto Convert: Direct Deposit & ACH Transfer slider can be set from 0-100%, then click “Save” to auto convert that percentage of future transfers into Bitcoin. 

Push ACH

Push ACH is a form of Direct Deposit that many, but not all, banks support. A Push ACH is a transfer from one account you own to another account you own. This enables you to transfer funds from another financial institution account directly into your Swan Balance. A Push ACH is initiated at your financial institution. Some examples are included below.

Check with your financial institution to see how you can set up an external transfer to another account that you own.

Citibank Example — Use your Direct Deposit information to send funds directly to your Swan Balance.

Credit Union Example

Push ACH is ideal for business owners who would like to move funds to Swan on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis for corporate treasury savings. It’s also often an easier and cheaper alternative to wire transfers, as many financial institutions have large ACH limits and free ACH transfers. This can be combined with the Auto Convert feature to automatically convert a portion of all transfers into Bitcoin. Note that Push ACH capabilities and ACH limits vary by bank.

Wire Transfers

Wire transfers are ideal for large purchases of greater than $5,000. Details are available from the Wire menu in a Swan account. Wires appear as a USD balance in Swan Balances, and a Recurring Buy Plan can be set up to purchase Bitcoin daily, weekly, or monthly from a Swan Balance.

Wires can be Auto Converted into Bitcoin in the same way as Push ACH.

The Auto Convert: Wire Transfer slider can be set from 0-100%, then click “Save” to auto convert that percentage of future transfers into Bitcoin.  

Other Scenarios

Funding Recurring Buy Plans from a Swan Balance is also an ideal use case for Swan IRA accounts, where larger amounts are contributed on an annual basis or via transfers or rollovers from other retirement accounts.

For more information on the Swan IRA, see Swan.com/IRA to register for priority access or review this FAQ with more details.

Finally, more details on other ACH options and withdrawal timelines are available in this FAQ.  

As always, keep the ideas and feedback coming to the Swan team!