Unchained Review (October 2026): Fees, US States and Licenses

Our verdict

Unchained is a Bitcoin-only financial services company in Austin, Texas, built around collaborative multisig vaults in which clients control keys. Its trading desk charges a flat 1% (1.5% in IRAs) with a $2,000 minimum trade and wire-only funding, and delivers bitcoin directly to the client's vault. Trading is available in 48 states and DC, but not New York or New Jersey.

Unchained fees

Maker / taker

— Not verified

Simple buy

1.0% flat on the trading desk for personal, trust and business vaults; 1.5% for IRA vaults

Volume tiers

Minimum trade $2,000 and maximum $5,000,000 per trade; Signature members receive preferred trading rates.

ACH deposit

Not supported

Wire deposit

— Not verified

Card purchase

— Not verified

USD withdrawal

— Not verified

Crypto withdrawal

— Not verified

Other fees

Personal vault $250 per year; IRA $250 per year; Signature membership $6,000 in the first year, then $4,500 per year; commercial loans 12.0% interest (14.18% APR), 2% origination fee, $150,000 minimum.

Minimum deposit

$2,000

Is Unchained available in my state?

Help center (checked Oct 2026) lists the trading desk as available in 48 states, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and not available in New York or New Jersey.

• AL available
• AK available
• AZ available
• AR available
• CA available
• CO available
• CT available
• DE available
• DC available
• FL available
• GA available
• HI available
• ID available
• IL available
• IN available
• IA available
• KS available
• KY available
• LA available
• ME available
• MD available
• MA available
• MI available
• MN available
• MS available
• MO available
• MT available
• NE available
• NV available
• NH available
• NJ not available
• NM available
• NY not available
• NC available
• ND available
• OH available
• OK available
• OR available
• PA available
• RI available
• SC available
• SD available
• TN available
• TX available
• UT available
• VT available
• VA available
• WA available
• WV available
• WI available
• WY available

The exclusions apply to the trading desk (buying and selling bitcoin); availability of vault-only accounts in New York and New Jersey was not verified.

New York

No

ID check (KYC)

Yes

Withdraw crypto

Yes

Funding

Wire

Is Unchained regulated?

• NMLS 2273761

US operator

Unchained Trading, LLC (trading desk); Unchained Capital, Inc. (loans)

Parent company

— Not verified

State licenses

Legal page lists state money transmitter licenses for Unchained Trading, LLC (NMLS 2273761) in 35+ jurisdictions, with New York and New Jersey not among them; Unchained Capital, Inc. (NMLS 1900773) originates loans under California Financing Law license 60DBO-78867.

New York license

None

Other

Unchained states it is not a bank. IRA custodian is Fortis Bank, which delegates key control to an Unchained vault.

Founded

— Not verified

Headquarters

Austin, TX, USA

How secure is Unchained?

Proof of reserves

N/A (client-controlled multisig vaults that clients can verify on-chain)

Audits

— Not verified

Insurance

— Not verified

Incidents since 2019

None found in the sources checked.

Crypto held on a platform is not covered by FDIC or SIPC insurance.

What you can do on Unchained

• Spot
• IRA
• Lending
• Self-custody wallet

Bitcoin only. Purchases settle directly into the client's multisig vault; in IRA vaults the client controls two of three keys. Also offers bitcoin-backed commercial loans, inheritance services, business vaults and donor-advised funds. Funding is by wire only.

Apps

Web, iOS

Support

Phone, Email, Help center