No Transaction Fees. No Added Spread. Just Bitcoin.

Buying bitcoin has gotten easier. Figuring out what you actually paid for it hasn't.

For years, the bitcoin industry has talked about a race to zero. As competition increased, the cost of buying and selling bitcoin was supposed to approach zero. It never really happened.

Most exchanges still take a cut. Sometimes it's an obvious transaction fee. Sometimes it's built into the price through an added spread. Sometimes it depends on how much you buy or how you buy it.

With Fold Reserve, we're taking the race to zero to its logical conclusion: zero transaction fees and no additional spread from Fold, across every way you buy and sell bitcoin. It's a Reserve member benefit, available with a Reserve balance of $5,000 or more. The market spread from BitGo, our execution partner, is included in the price you see.

One-time buys. Recurring buys. Paycheck conversion. Round Ups. Sells. Trades. Whether the money comes from a linked bank account, your Fold cash balance, or Reserve. 

Buy $10 or $1 million. With Reserve, the Fold transaction fee is zero.

The race to zero never got to zero

The industry has made real progress, but the result is still a patchwork of rules depending on how and how much you buy.

Cash App starts at 2% for normal bitcoin buys and sells under $500, then reduces the fee as transaction size increases. Strike starts at 0.89% and lowers its fee as monthly trading volume increases. River starts at 1% for standard one-time purchases. Coinbase consumer uses variable fees calculated when you place an order and also includes a spread in its quoted price. 

There are legitimate ways to buy bitcoin without a transaction fee on several of these platforms. Cash App offers no-fee recurring purchases, paycheck conversion, and Round Ups. Strike and River waive fees for certain recurring and paycheck purchases.

The problem is how many conditions are attached to getting the best price.

Fold Reserve pricing requires a Reserve balance of $5,000 or more. BitGo's market spread is included in the price. *Robinhood charges no commission on default routing but earns revenue through its execution model.

No-fee recurring buys are useful, but they're not the same as no-fee bitcoin trading. Zero commission is useful, but it doesn't necessarily mean the platform has no economics in the spread. Volume discounts reduce costs, but give the best economics to the people buying the most.

We wanted to remove the qualifications. It shouldn't matter how you buy, how often you buy, or how much money you have.

Buying less shouldn't cost you more

One of the stranger things about bitcoin exchange pricing is that people buying the least can pay the highest percentage.

Cash App makes this particularly clear. Its published fee for a normal market purchase starts at 2% for purchases below $500, then falls as the purchase gets larger.

The logic is familiar. Larger customers are worth competing for, so financial companies give them better pricing. But someone buying $25 from a paycheck should get the same fair pricing as someone buying $1 million. A bitcoin position is meaningful at any size. The person starting with less shouldn't pay a higher percentage simply because they have less money to put in.

There's another reason this matters: bitcoin is money.

Moving from dollars into bitcoin, bitcoin back into dollars, or bitcoin into your own wallet shouldn't come with a penalty every time you do it. If buying $50 of bitcoin costs 2%, selling it costs another fee, and sending it costs another, bitcoin starts to feel less like money and more like an expensive financial product.

With Reserve, Fold applies the same economics whether you buy $10 or $1 million. Zero transaction fee. No additional spread. The same when you sell. And Fold charges no fee when you send your bitcoin off the platform.

Bitcoin should work for someone starting with their first $100 just as well as it works for someone buying $1 million.

No Fold fee should mean no hidden Fold spread, too

Fees are only part of the cost of buying bitcoin.

A platform can advertise zero commissions while making money through the difference between the market price and the price you actually receive. That's why comparing exchanges based only on the word "fee" can be misleading.

There's still an underlying market bid-ask spread when you buy or sell bitcoin through Fold. Markets naturally have a difference between the price at which an asset can be bought and sold.

Fold doesn't add its own spread or markup on top of that execution price. We don't advertise a zero transaction fee and then move our economics somewhere less visible.

Over time, that difference matters.

What fees cost a regular bitcoin buyer

*Based on entry-level standard one-time buy pricing and published/targeted spreads: River ~1.25% all-in and Strike ~1.11% all-in. Actual spreads can vary.

**Based on Cash App market buys below $500: 2% fee plus a spread of 0% to 0.75%. Cash App pricing declines with transaction size, so these figures illustrate repeated smaller purchases at entry-level pricing, not a single large purchase.

Fold figures assume a Reserve balance of $5,000 or more. 

That is money that can go into bitcoin instead of to the exchange.

Your keys or a federally chartered bank. Nothing in between.

Getting a good price matters. So does knowing exactly who holds your bitcoin.

We believe bitcoin should be held in one of two places: by you, or by a federally chartered bank. Nothing in between.

Fold deliberately separates brokerage from custody. Fold provides the experience for buying and selling bitcoin, while customer bitcoin is held separately with BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association, a federally chartered national trust bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Bitcoin held in qualified custody is held 1:1 in segregated, bankruptcy-remote custody. It is not lent out, rehypothecated, or used to finance Fold's business. [Legal to review: no disclosure row covers these custody claims. Confirm against the BitGo Custodial Services Agreement.]

We chose this structure because buying bitcoin and safeguarding bitcoin are different jobs. Some of the largest failures in crypto came from companies that combined exchange, custody, lending, and their own balance sheets inside the same organization. Fold separates those functions.

If you'd rather hold your own keys, Fold makes that easy too. With Reserve, we charge no fee to send bitcoin off the platform or withdraw it to self-custody.

Your keys or a federally chartered bank. We don't think there should be anything in between.

Reserve is why we can do this

Our competitors need you to trade because trading is how they make money. Even as headline fees have fallen, the economics have moved into spreads, subscriptions, volume tiers, or restrictions around which transactions qualify.

Reserve changes that relationship. Fold earns through a broader relationship across your cash, spending, bills, and bitcoin. We don't need every bitcoin purchase to be a revenue event.

Starting with a $5,000 Reserve balance, customers unlock a bitcoin exchange with no Fold transaction fee and no Fold-added spread, no Fold withdrawal fees, and bill pay rewards. Credit card and debit card rates climb from Tier 2.

The Fold Reserve Bonus is a limited time offer for new Fold Reserve members. Purchase at least $5,000 of Fold Reserve during the enrollment window and Fold applies 3% once to that amount, up to $100,000, and pays it in three annual installments. The 3% is not an annual rate, is not interest, and is not a yield on your balance. Your bonus is fixed when the enrollment window closes and later purchases do not increase it. If your redemptions after that date ever exceed your purchases after that date, the amount your bonus is based on is permanently reduced by the largest shortfall you reach, and buying more Fold Reserve does not restore it. If that amount falls below $5,000 the offer ends and unpaid installments are forfeited, and the same happens if your Fold account closes. Installments are paid in bitcoin to your rewards balance at the market rate on the payment date, so the dollar value you receive may be more or less than 3%. See the Fold Reserve Bonus Promotional Terms for full details. [Legal to reconfirm these terms against the live Exhibit A for the current enrollment window.]

Rates above the base apply to your first $5,000 in eligible card purchases and your first $5,000 in bill payments each month. Card purchases above that earn the base rate (1.5% credit, 0.25% debit). Bill payments above that earn nothing. The higher card rate applies to one card: your Fold Bitcoin Credit Card if you hold one, otherwise your debit card. The 5% rate requires the Fold Bitcoin Credit Card.

The bitcoin benefits are the same at every Reserve tier. Reserve lets us remove Fold's trading fee and added spread entirely while rewarding a much broader financial relationship with our customers.

Ready to buy when you are

Many people keep dollars somewhere else while they wait to buy bitcoin. If you are waiting for a price or buying gradually, it makes sense to want those dollars close at hand.

Reserve works differently from a savings account. It doesn't pay interest, and your Reserve balance earns nothing on its own. What it does is set your rewards rate on the spending you already do: your credit card or debit card, and your bill payments. When you buy bitcoin from Reserve, you pay no Fold trading fee and no Fold-added spread.

So your Reserve balance is ready whenever you want to buy, and your everyday spending can earn bitcoin along the way.

This is what zero looks like

The race to zero shouldn't end with a complicated fee schedule, a special transaction type, or better pricing reserved for people with more money.

With Fold Reserve, buy $10 or $1 million. Buy once or every day. Sell when you want. Hold your bitcoin with a federally chartered bank or move it to your own custody. Your terms, no Fold transaction fee.

No Fold transaction fee. No Fold-added spread. No Fold withdrawal fee.

Buy Reserve to unlock all of this today. Member benefits require a Reserve balance of $5,000 or more.

Disclosures: Fold Reserve is closed-loop stored value issued by Fold, Inc. and redeemable only for Fold products and services. It is not a bank account, deposit account, or savings account, is not redeemable for cash, and is not insured by the FDIC or SIPC. Your Reserve balance earns nothing on its own. See the Fold Terms and Conditions.

Fold Reserve member benefits require a Reserve balance of $5,000 or more and are subject to change. Fold charges no trading fee and adds no spread of its own on bitcoin buys and sells. A market spread charged by Fold's execution partner is included in the price you see and may vary. Fold charges no bitcoin withdrawal fee and pays the bitcoin network fee on your on-chain withdrawals, up to any limits shown in the Fold App. Reserve members also pay no ATM withdrawal fee and no international transaction fee on the Fold Prepaid Debit Card, issued by Sutton Bank. Fold Reserve member rates on gift cards vary by brand and are shown in the Fold App. See the Fold Reserve Member Benefits section of the Fold Terms and Conditions for details.

Without a Fold Reserve balance of $5,000 or more, a 1% transaction fee applies to bitcoin buys and sells, including automated buys, and the price you see includes a Fold spread plus a spread charged by Fold's execution partner, which may vary. The fee is shown before you confirm. Bitcoin withdrawals incur a network fee charged by third parties, not by Fold. Fee-free trading and fee-free withdrawals are Fold Reserve member benefits and require a Fold Reserve balance of $5,000 or more.

Rewards are earned on your eligible spend, not on your balance. The Fold Bitcoin Credit Card earns a 1.50% base rate on all eligible purchases with no cap and no Reserve balance required. The Fold Prepaid Debit Card (issued by Sutton Bank) earns a 0.25% base rate on all eligible purchases with no cap and no Reserve balance required. A Reserve balance of $5,000 or more is required to earn on eligible ACH bill pay, which earns 0.25%. Your rate increases above these base rates as your Reserve balance grows, starting at $15,000. Any amount above the base rate applies only to the first $5,000 of eligible spend each calendar month, counted separately for card spend and for bill pay. Card spend above that cap earns the base rate and bill pay earns nothing above it. Maximum rates at a $100,000 Reserve balance are 5.00% on the Fold Bitcoin Credit Card, 3.00% on the Fold Prepaid Debit Card, and 3.00% on bill pay. You earn a boost on only one card: if you hold the Fold Bitcoin Credit Card, the boost applies to that card and your debit card earns the base rate. Bill pay is unaffected by which card you hold. Rates are subject to change. See the Fold Terms and Conditions for details and tier requirements.

1.5% back in bitcoin on eligible purchases, with no cap. Rewards are earned on your eligible spend, not on your balance. Holding a Fold Reserve balance can boost your rate on your first $5,000 in eligible purchases each calendar month. Eligible purchases above that amount, and all eligible purchases if you do not hold a qualifying Reserve balance, earn the 1.5% base rate. Credit card and debit card rewards cannot be earned at the same time. Rewards are provided by Fold, not Celtic Bank. Rates are subject to change. See the Cardholder Agreement and our Terms and Conditions. The Fold Bitcoin Credit Card™ is issued by Celtic Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc.

The Fold Prepaid Debit Card earns a 0.25% base rate in bitcoin on eligible purchases, with no cap, whatever your Reserve balance and whichever cards you hold. A Fold Reserve balance of $15,000 or more adds a boost above the base rate on your first $5,000 in eligible purchases each calendar month. You earn a boost on only one card at a time: if you hold the Fold Bitcoin Credit Card, the boost applies to that card and your debit card earns the base rate only. A purchase earns rewards when it runs as a credit transaction. If you choose debit and enter your PIN at checkout, the purchase runs over a PIN debit network and does not earn rewards. To earn at an in-store terminal, choose credit instead of debit. Final routing can depend on the merchant, and online purchases route automatically, so rewards are determined by how your transaction is processed. Rates are subject to change. See the Fold Terms and Conditions for details, including Reserve tier requirements.

Reserve purchases are limited to $10,000 per day. A Funding Target above that amount is funded through daily purchases over several days. Your reward tier can be set by a target you have not finished funding. If those scheduled purchases are cancelled, fail, or are returned, rewards earned at the higher tier are repriced to the tier your funded balance supports and the difference is reversed. Redeeming Reserve reduces your balance, which can lower your tier or drop you below the $5,000 minimum, and your tier does not recover until you purchase more Reserve. Refunds are discretionary except where required by law, are returned only to your original funding source, and a refunded Reserve Unit is cancelled rather than restored. See the Fold Reserve section of the Fold Terms and Conditions for details.

Rewards are paid in bitcoin and are unsecured promotional obligations of Fold, Inc. They are not deposits, are not FDIC or SIPC insured, are not paid by any bank, and may lose value. Rewards are earned on eligible spend, not on any balance you hold. Rewards pend for 30 days before they are credited, and are reversed in proportion to any purchase that is returned, refunded, disputed, or reversed. Your Rewards Account is limited to $10,000, and you must withdraw below that limit to keep earning. Rewards can be redeemed once your balance reaches 30,000 sats. If your Fold account becomes inactive, Fold may reduce your Rewards Account balance by 0.01 BTC per month and may close the account and forfeit the balance. Rewards may be worth more or less at redemption than when earned. Bonus categories, earning rates, tier requirements, and offer availability are subject to change and may be capped or limited in duration. See the Fold Terms and Conditions for earning exclusions and full details.