Relai is one of the best options in Europe for buying and holding bitcoin if you want self-custody without the complexity of a full exchange. The app handles one thing extremely well: recurring bitcoin purchases directly into your own self-custoidal wallet. It won’t work for active traders or altcoin buyers, but the fee structure, regulatory standing, and DCA automation make it a strong pick for long-term savers.
Read on to learn more about the Swiss-made Bitcoin app Relai.
Table of Contents
Quick Overview
| App Type | Bitcoin buying and savings (mobile only) |
| Custody | Self-custodial (you hold your keys) |
| Fees | 0.9% per buy with referral code; first 100 EUR/CHF monthly purchase is fee-free; 3% surcharge on card payments |
| Availability | EU and Switzerland |
| Regulation | MiCA license, Swiss FINMA oversight via VQF |
| Best for | European Bitcoin savers who want automated DCA with self-custody |
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Self-custody from the first transaction (no need to withdraw from an exchange)
- Automated DCA with weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedules
- One fee-free purchase per month (up to 100 EUR/CHF)
- Supports SEPA, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
- MiCA-licensed and Swiss-regulated
Cons
- Bitcoin only (no other cryptocurrencies are supported)
- Full KYC now required (no more no-KYC purchases)
Who’s Relai?
Most Bitcoin apps want to be everything. The Relai App doesn’t bother. The Swiss company has spent six years doing one thing: making it easy to buy and hold bitcoin (BTC). There’s no support for altcoins, no access to risky DeFi products and no leverage.
By early 2026, Relai had crossed $1 billion in total transaction volume and hit 500,000 downloads. It won “Best Crypto Startup” at the 2024 Swiss Crypto Awards and landed on Sifted’s list of Europe’s fastest-growing startups the same year.
The company is based in Zurich and raised $12 million in late 2024 to expand across Europe.
How Does Relai Work?
You download the app, verify your identity, link a payment method, and buy Bitcoin. No exchange holds your coins. Your BTC goes into a self-custodial wallet secured by a 12-word recovery phrase generated on your device.
On something like Coinbase or Kraken, the exchange holds your coins unless you manually withdraw them. Relai skips that step entirely. You own your coins from the moment the transaction settles.
The app supports bank transfers via SEPA (including instant SEPA), credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also automate transfers to a hardware wallet like a Ledger or BitBox if you prefer to hold your bitcoin in cold storage.
Auto-Invest & DCA
Relai is well-known in the Bitcoin community for its auto-invest feature. After all, Bitcoin is savings technology, and that’s exactly what Relai enbables you to use it as.
You pick an amount, choose a frequency (weekly, biweekly, or monthly), and the app buys Bitcoin for you on schedule.
Dollar-cost averaging isn’t unique to Relai, but there’s one detail worth knowing: a zero-fee monthly purchase. Every month, your first 100 EUR or CHF buy costs nothing.
For someone stacking small amounts regularly, that adds up. Setup takes about two minutes. It’s the feature that keeps long-term holders around, and probably why Relai’s user count keeps climbing.
Fees
Fees sit around 0.9% per transaction when using a referral code. That’s competitive for a non-custodial service. You pay a bit more than you would on a major exchange, but you’re also not trusting someone else with your keys.
Credit and debit card buys carry an additional 3% fee. Standard across the industry, but it stings if you’re buying with a card every week. Bank transfers are cheaper by far.
The zero-fee first purchase each month (up to 100 EUR/CHF) offsets some of the cost for smaller, regular buyers.
Security & Regulation
Relai holds a MiCA license from the French AMF and operates under Swiss FINMA oversight as an SRO member of VQF. A Bitcoin-only startup with both Swiss and EU credentials is unusual.
Full KYC became mandatory in late October 2024 when MiCA went into effect.
Privacy-focused Bitcoiners won’t love that, and the complaint is fair. But it’s the cost of operating legally across the EU in 2026. Relai isn’t alone in making that trade.
On the wallet side, the self-custodial model means Relai never holds your coins. Your 12-word recovery phrase is generated locally. If Relai shut down tomorrow, you could still access your bitcoin with that phrase.
Who Is Relai Best For?
European residents who want to accumulate bitcoin over time without babysitting holdings on an exchange. The auto-invest setup, self-custody model, and fee structure are built for long-term savers who don’t need charts or altcoin access.
Relai also caters to high net-worth individuals and businesses who want to buy and hold large amounts of bitcoin.
Final Verdict
Relai does one thing well: buying and holding bitcoin with self-custody in Europe. MiCA compliance, Swiss regulation, automated DCA with a zero-fee tier, and a wallet you actually own. Few apps in Europe match that combination.
It won’t replace a full exchange for people who need one. But for buyers who just want to stack sats and keep their own keys, it gets the job done without overcomplicating it.
The app holds a 4.6-star rating on the App Store from over 100,000 reviews, which suggests the user experience delivers and customer support is responsive.
Whether you’re new to bitcoin or just want a simple and easy way to stack sats, Relai is arguably one of the best options when it comes to Bitcoin apps in Europe.