How to Set Up Recurring Bitcoin Buys with Relai App

Dollar-cost averaging into Bitcoin sounds simple until you actually try to do it. Most exchanges require you to log in, navigate order books, execute a buy, then withdraw to your own wallet. Multiply that by 52 weeks per year, and you've created a part-time job for yourself.

Relai App takes a different approach. The Swiss Bitcoin-only app lets you set up automatic weekly or monthly purchases that land directly in a self-custodial wallet you control. No exchange account holding your coins, no manual withdrawals, no remembering to log in every Friday morning.

Here's how to configure it.

Step 1: Download and Open the App

Relai is available on both iOS and Android. After downloading, you'll create an account and go through basic verification. The app generates a wallet for you during setup, with keys stored on your device rather than on Relai's servers.

This self-custody model means you're responsible for backing up your recovery phrase. The tradeoff is real control: Relai cannot freeze your funds or prevent withdrawals because they never hold your Bitcoin in the first place.

Step 2: Create Your Auto-Invest Plan

Tap the (+) icon in the app, then select Buy. Enter the amount you want to invest, starting from minimums of 50 EUR or CHF. Then choose your schedule:

• Weekly auto-invest: Executes every 7 days from your plan creation date
• Monthly auto-invest: Executes every 30 days (dates may shift slightly with varying month lengths)

The schedule anchors to when you create the plan, so a plan started on a Wednesday will continue executing on Wednesdays.

Step 3: Select Your Payment Method

Relai supports several funding options depending on your location:

• Bank transfer via SEPA
• SEPA Direct Debit
• Visa and Mastercard
• Apple Pay and Google Pay (where available)

For bank transfers, you'll need to set up a standing order in your banking app. The amount and currency must match exactly what you specified in Relai, and funds go to the IBAN displayed in the app. Mismatches trigger refunds, which delays your purchase.

SEPA Direct Debit offers a more hands-off experience since Relai pulls the funds automatically on schedule. Card payments work similarly, charging your card each cycle without manual intervention.

Step 4: Confirm and Let It Run

Once you've selected your payment method, confirm the purchase plan. The app shows your next scheduled buy date and amount. After that, the plan runs in the background.

Each purchase converts your euros or francs to Bitcoin at the current market rate and deposits the sats directly into your app wallet. You can track your accumulation over time without touching anything.

Understanding the Fee Structure

Relai charges 1% on standard purchases, dropping to 0.9% if you use an invite code from an existing user.

The more interesting detail for recurring buyers: monthly auto-invest plans between 50 and 100 CHF/EUR currently carry zero Relai fees. This applies to one monthly order per calendar month and resets on the first of each month. The offer specifically targets monthly plans; weekly schedules and one-time purchases don't qualify.

Network fees for Bitcoin transactions still apply, but eliminating the platform fee on modest monthly amounts makes systematic accumulation cheaper than most alternatives.

Managing Your Wallet

Since Relai delivers Bitcoin to a wallet you control, you have full flexibility. You can:

• Leave coins in the Relai wallet for convenience
• Send Bitcoin to a hardware wallet for cold storage
• Spend directly from the app if needed

The wallet uses standard Bitcoin derivation paths, so you could recover funds with your seed phrase in another compatible wallet if Relai disappeared tomorrow. That's the self-custody advantage: you're not dependent on the company's continued operation to access your Bitcoin.

Who This Works Best For

Relai's auto-invest feature suits European residents (the app operates across 20+ countries including Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland via SEPA) who want the simplest possible recurring Bitcoin setup. You're trading the lower fees of larger exchanges for genuine convenience and self-custody by default.

If you're a beginner intimidated by exchange interfaces, or you just want to stack sats on autopilot without thinking about it, this approach removes most friction. The app received MiCA licensing through the French AMF in late 2025, enabling EU-wide expansion with regulatory legitimacy.

The main tradeoff is that you're paying slightly more in fees than a high-volume exchange would charge. For amounts under a few hundred euros monthly, the convenience often outweighs that cost. For larger accumulation, you might compare Relai Private's reduced rates for purchases in the 100k+ range.

Getting Started

Set your first auto-invest plan small if you want to test the process. Watch one or two cycles execute successfully, verify the Bitcoin arrives in your wallet, and then scale up the amount if you're comfortable.

The goal is building a Bitcoin position over time without active management. Configure once, fund reliably, and let compound accumulation do the work.