Bitcoin app

With a Bitcoin app, you buy bitcoin on your smartphone, usually by bank transfer or card. Most apps are brokersGlossaryBroker (crypto broker)A provider that sells you bitcoin or buys it from you at a displayed price, instead of letting you trade in the order book yourself. The costs usually come from the spread, a fee or both.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →×: you confirm a displayed price, done. Many also offer a savings planGlossarySavings plan (Bitcoin savings plan)Automatically buying bitcoin at fixed intervals with a fixed amount, for example $50 a month. A savings plan takes the question of the right moment off your hands, but doesn’t promise a higher return.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 4 – Setting up a savings plan →In the glossary →×. Bitcoin-only apps offer nothing but Bitcoin.

The crucial question: who holds the keys?

• Custodial app: the provider holds the bitcoin for you. That’s convenient, but you only have a claim against it as your custodianGlossaryCustodian (custodial)A provider such as an exchange or app that holds the private keys for you. Convenient, because support can help if you lose your password – but you don’t hold the bitcoin yourself and depend on the provider paying out.On the learning path: Stage 5 · Step 1 – Understanding custody →In the glossary →×.
• Self-custody app: the keys are created on your device, and you get a seed phraseGlossarySeed phrase (recovery phrase)A sequence of usually 12 or 24 words from which your wallet derives all its private keys. Anyone who knows the words has full access to your bitcoin – so they belong in an offline backup and never in anyone else’s hands.On the learning path: Stage 5 · Step 3 – Backing up your seed phrase →In the glossary →×. The provider only exchanges your money for bitcoin and sends it to your wallet. If you lose your device and your seed phrase, nobody can help you.

Under MiCAGlossaryMiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)The EU regulation on markets in crypto-assets. Since 30 December 2024, exchanges, brokers and custodians in the EU have needed authorisation; the last transitional period ended on 1 July 2026. MiCA regulates providers, not Bitcoin itself.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →×, custody for clients is a separate service that requires authorisation.^[1] The register kept by ESMAGlossaryESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority)The EU authority for securities and financial markets, based in Paris. What matters to you is its MiCA register: it lists all crypto-asset service providers authorised in the EU.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →× lists the permitted services for every authorised provider – custody appears as ‘custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients’. If it’s missing, the provider may not hold your bitcoin itself – it is then in your own wallet or with an authorised partner.^[2]

What to look out for

• Is the provider listed in the ESMA register?
• What does buying cost – fee, spreadGlossarySpread (bid-ask spread)The difference between the buy and sell price. With many apps, the spread is the real fee – it just doesn’t appear as a separate item on your statement.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →In the glossary →×, card payment?
• Can you withdraw to your own wallet at any time, and at what cost?
• Reputable support never asks for your seed phrase.

Choosing the right provider shows how to check providers step by step.