The single highest-leverage thing you can do this month: open a River account, link your bank, and set up a recurring buy. From open-tab to first auto-purchase is about ten minutes. Here is the entire flow, with no dead air.

Step 1: Open the account (3 minutes)

Go to river.com on a desktop browser (the web flow is faster than the mobile app for setup). Click "Get Started."

• Enter your email and create a password (use a password manager, generate something long).
• Verify the email — they'll send a 6-digit code immediately.
• Set up two-factor authentication. Use an authenticator app (Aegis on Android, Raivo on iOS, or 1Password / Bitwarden built-in). Do not use SMS 2FA — SIM swaps are a real risk.

Why River specifically? Because they're a Bitcoin-only exchange (no shitcoin upsells), they offer zero-fee recurring buys, and they support full self-custody withdrawals to your own hardware wallet. Comparison to other exchanges here.

Step 2: Verify your identity (4 minutes)

Required by U.S. anti-money-laundering law for any regulated exchange. River uses a service called Plaid + a quick selfie check to verify you. You'll need:

• A photo of the front and back of a driver's license, state ID, or passport. River's mobile app does this best — scan a QR code from desktop and continue on your phone.
• A selfie. The system matches it to your ID photo.
• Your full legal name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number.

Approval is usually instant. If something flags (mismatched address, expired ID), expect a 1–2 business day manual review. Don't proceed to fund the account until you see "verified" in your dashboard.

Step 3: Link your bank and fund the account (1 minute)

In the dashboard, click "Add Funds" → "Bank Transfer."

• Plaid login flow: select your bank from the list, log in with your bank's normal credentials inside the Plaid iframe. Plaid handles the connection — River never sees your bank password.
• First transfer: $20 is enough to test. ACH transfers take 1–3 business days to clear; the funds are usable for buying immediately on River, but withdrawals to a hardware wallet are gated on settlement.

Wire transfers are instant but cost $15–35. Stick with ACH.

Step 4: Set up the recurring buy (2 minutes — the actually important step)

Settings → Recurring Orders → "New Recurring Buy."

• Amount: Start with whatever you'd actually sustain through a recession. $20/week is enough. $50/week is meaningful. Don't pick an amount that you'll cancel during a job change.
• Frequency: Daily wins on math (smoothest entry price), but weekly is psychologically easier and the difference is tiny over multi-year horizons. Weekly on Friday is a good default.
• Funding source: Same bank account you linked.
• End date: "Never." Don't set an end date.

Save. From this point on, accumulation runs while you sleep. Why DCA beats market timing.

Step 5: Enable Supercharge (optional but recommended)

River's Supercharge feature lets you automatically buy extra Bitcoin on days when the price has dropped meaningfully. You set a multiplier (1.5x, 2x, etc.) and a trigger threshold (e.g., "buy 2x on days when BTC is down >3%").

The math: you buy more when it's cheap, less when it's expensive — the same Cantillon-resistant logic as standard DCA, but amplified at the dips. Over multi-year periods, this typically improves your average entry price by a few percent.

Set the trigger at 3–5% drops and the multiplier at 2x. Make sure your bank account can sustain the higher draw on dip days — Supercharge will pull from the same linked account.

Step 6: Set up auto-withdraw to your hardware wallet

The whole point of DCA-ing into Bitcoin is to own Bitcoin, not to leave it on an exchange. River supports automatic withdrawals when your balance crosses a threshold.

• Get a hardware wallet first. Coldcard ($150–$250), Trezor Safe 5 ($150), or Ledger Nano S Plus ($80). Buy from the manufacturer's site only — never Amazon.
• Generate your seed phrase on the device. Stamp it on steel. Never photograph it.
• Get your receive address from your hardware wallet (starts with bc1...).
• In River: Settings → Withdrawals → Auto-Withdraw → set threshold (e.g., $500) → paste your hardware wallet address.
• Send a $5 test withdrawal first. Confirm it arrives. Then enable auto-withdraw.

Full sovereignty stack here.

A note on referral links

If you want to support this site, here's our River referral link: river.com/signup?ref=fiatisfake [VERIFY: replace with actual affiliate URL]. River credits both of us $10 in Bitcoin once you fund the account. We don't recommend services we wouldn't use ourselves — River is what we use. If you'd rather skip the referral, just go to river.com directly. Either way, set up the recurring buy.