Best bitcoin trading platforms
Nine services let you buy bitcoin, with fees ranging from roughly 0.4% on high-volume Kraken tiers to 1.5–2.3% on Cash App. The more consequential difference is what happens after the purchase: most platforms settle bitcoin into a custodial account where the company holds 100% of the keys, while Unchained settles directly into a multisig vault where the client holds 2 of 3 keys. Recurring purchase support, minimums, and OTC desk access also vary considerably.
| Feature | Unchained | Casa | Cash App | Coinbase | Kraken | Onramp | River | Strike | Swan Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin-only | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Settles into self-custody vault | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ |
| Full-reserve (no rehypothecation) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cryptographic proof of reserves | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ |
| SOC 2 Type II audited | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ‒ |
| OTC desk for large trades | ✓ | ◐ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recurring / DCA | ‒ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Available outside the US | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ‒ | ✓ | ‒ |
✓Yes · ◐Partial / depends on configuration · ‒ No
About this guide
These comparisons are maintained by Unchained. We have tried to represent every service accurately and fairly, and where another service does something well that Unchained does not, we say so. Unchained appears as the reference point throughout because every page is built around a single question: how does this service differ from Unchained? That framing is why Unchained is more prominently featured, not because we consider it the default right answer for every reader.