Most investors know there is no better time to start investing for retirement than today. What many investors do not know, however, is that it is now possible to put bitcoin and other select cryptocurrencies as a holding into your retirement investment account.
Here, we’ve assembled a few of the best managed bitcoin and crypto IRAs to help you choose the best possible provider to help you with your digital asset retirement investments.
At a glance:
Best Rates and Fees: ITrustCapital
Best for Security: CoinIRA
Best for Self-Directed Investments: Equity Trust
Best Investor Experience: Bitcoin IRA
Learn how crypto and bitcoin IRAs work, which providers offer managed IRAs, and whether it’s a good idea to make bitcoin part of your retirement fund or not.
Best Bitcoin IRA Accounts
Our analysts have composed a list of the top bitcoin IRA accounts currently available. We included factors like launch year, number of supported assets, minimum investment, lowest fees, and more.
| Name | Launch Year | No. of Investable Digital Assets | Minimum Investment (USD) | Assets Under Mgmnt (AUM) | Setup Cost | Yearly Fees (Based on $10K investment) | BMJ Score |
| CoinIRA | 2017 | 6 | $5,000 | $34B | $0 | $0 | 4.5 |
| iTrust Capital | 2018 | 6 | $1,000 | $6B | $0 | $0 | 4.0 |
| BitcoinIRA | 2016 | 8 | $5,000 | $100M | $50 | $195 | 4.0 |
| BitIRA | 2017 | 8 | $5,000 | $2.5M | $50 | $195 | 3.5 |
| Equity Trust | 1974 | 9 | $10,000 | $39B | $50 | $225 | 3.5 |
| BitAdvizers | 2009 | 6 | $20,000 | N/A | $550 | $195 | 2.5 |
| Noble Bitcoin | 2016 | 4 | $10,000 | N/A | $0 | $225 | 2.5 |
CoinIRA
Minimum investment: $5000
Assets under management: $34 billion
BMJ Score: 4.5
CoinIRA was founded in 2017 and allows users to trade up to 18 cryptocurrencies. Additionally, their “flex metals” program allows you to invest in gold, silver, or platinum. The company has no monthly or storage fee but you’ll need a minimum of $5000 to open an account. You’ll also pay a 1.25% trade fee. The digital assets are secured in the custody of Equity Trust, a regulated, IRS-approved custodian.
iTrustCapital
Minimum investment: $1000
Assets under management: $6 billion
BMJ Score: 4.0
iTrustCapital was founded in 2018 to allow its clients to buy and sell crypto using IRA retirement accounts. The company offers up to 25 cryptocurrencies and access to physical gold and silver. You won’t need to pay any setup fees or management fees, though transaction fees are set at 1%, plus you will need at least $1000 to open an account.
BitcoinIRA
Minimum investment: $5000
Assets under management: $100 million
BMJ Score: 4.0
BitcoinIRA is a retirement asset company that was founded in March 2015 by Chris Kline, Johannes Haze, and Camilo Concha. Some of the assets offered by the company include cryptocurrency and precious metals. The accounts are easy to set up and allow you to trade up to 60 different cryptocurrencies with up to $700M of their assets insured at Lloyds of London. The minimum investment for the company is set at $5000 with an annual maintenance fee of $195. They have a one-time service fee of 0.99-4.99% and charge a 2% transaction fee and a 0.08% security fee.
BitIRA
Minimum investment: $5000
Assets under management: $2.5 million
BMJ Score: 3.5
BitIRA was founded in 2017 to allow its customers to grow their assets including crypto for an extended time. BitIRA’s minimum investment is set at $5000 and allows you to trade up to 18 different cryptocurrencies while maintaining control of your assets. The setup cost for an account is $50 with the monthly storage cost set at 0.05% per month and an annual maintenance fee of $195.
Equity Trust
Minimum investment: $10,000
Assets under management: $39 billion
BMJ Score: 3.5
Equity Trust was founded by Richard Desich, Sr. in 1974. It is a self-directed custodian IRA which allows you to diversify your portfolio. Equity Trust allows you to invest in real estate, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cryptocurrency. It also has a feature that allows other providers like BitIRA and CoinIRA to integrate with its platform. To set up an account, you’ll pay $50 and $75 for online and paper registration, respectively. The annual maintenance fee ranges from $225 to $2250, depending on the account balance.
BitAdvizers
Minimum investment: $20,000
Assets under management: Not listed
BMJ Score: 2.5
BitAdvizers was founded by Chris Mitchell in 2018. The company was formed to help its customers invest in crypto and precious metals. To open an account, you need to pay a one-time fee of $550. It has additional annual maintenance fees of $195. You’ll need a minimum of $20,000 to invest with BitAdvizers.
Noble Bitcoin
Minimum investment: $10,000
Assets under management: Not listed
BMJ Score: 2.5
NobleBitcoin was founded by Charles Thorngren and Collins Plumer to help customers invest in bitcoin and other digital assets. You need at least $10,000 to invest with NobleBitcoin. On top of that, you can invest your existing IRS-approved retirement funds in crypto. Noble Gold is a different arm of the company that deals with precious metals.
What is a Crypto IRA?
An IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is a popular investment method used for retirement due to specific tax benefits. The four main types of IRAs – Traditional, ROTH, SEP, and SIMPLE – offer slightly different ways to invest in your retirement with the purpose of avoiding unnecessary taxes. Initially conceived around stocks and mutual funds, IRAs have expanded to include gold, real estate and crypto assets.
In most cases, individuals can invest up to $6,500 of earned income (not including capital gains, social security, child support, etc.) for those under age 50, and $7,500 for those age 50 or older annually into an IRA. But IRAs are not very liquid, due to age-based rules around withdrawals. The penalty for withdrawing funds from an IRA account before the age of 59.5 is 10% of the withdrawal, so the vast majority of IRAs are based on a “set it and forget it” mentality.
Since 1974, Americans have utilized the benefits of IRAs to reduce current taxes while saving for the future. Interested investors can set up an IRA with the bank, brokerage, or credit union of their choice. The portfolio distribution is typically determined by the party offering the IRA unless it’s a “self-directed IRA.” Self-directed IRAs enable investors to choose asset allocation.
IRAs generally consist of widely accepted safe investments, including mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, and some blue-chip stocks. However, some IRA providers have begun offering digital assets as a part of their portfolio options.
Why Invest in a Crypto IRA?
The IRS promotes the use of IRAs because it’s a tax-advantaged financial product that helps Americans save for retirement. The foundation for financial security typically begins with baseline accounts like an IRA, but it should by no means be the only source for retirement income.
The average IRA returns 7-10% on an annual basis, however this can be improved by adding higher yielding assets, such as bitcoin and other blue-chip cryptocurrencies. Due to contribution limitations, early withdrawal penalties, and restrictions on earned income, the IRA should remain untouched until the age of 59.5.
Since it hit the markets in the early 1970s, millions of Americans have taken advantage of the IRA to ensure their golden years are financially stable. In short, an IRA has few disadvantages if used for the sole purpose of saving and investing for retirement.
How Does a Crypto IRA Work?
As crypto continues to merge with traditional finance, it has made a significant impact on the way in which we view retirement funds. Crypto IRAs have become a possibility as retirement investment vehicles. Having said that, the IRS has yet to define an IRA account that includes digital assets. However, some IRA custodians are following the IRS rules that define digital assets as property, making them fair game for inclusion in an IRA product.
IRAs have been used to expand investments towards real estate, precious metals, notes, tax lien certificates, and more. As of late, IRAs have begun to include digital assets like bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, all to be taxed at the same rate as “property,” according to the IRS.
The only type of IRA allowed to include digital assets is a self-directed IRA (SDIRA), but investors must still go through a custodian in order to start their retirement fund.
The custodian, contrary to traditional IRAs, has no fiduciary responsibility to the client, which means choosing the right provider of your digital asset IRA is that much more important.
Although digital assets undoubtedly add risk to the overall portfolio, bitcoin IRAs offer diversification and higher potential gains for those investors willing to back the digital asset revolution.
Should Bitcoin Be a Part of Your Retirement Fund?
It’s well documented that digital assets carry more risk than stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. If an investor chooses a bitcoin IRA versus a traditional IRA, they are taking on even more risk in order to potentially generate higher returns.
As the old saying goes, “if you want something done right, do it yourself.” Investors should conduct copious amounts of research prior to choosing a bitcoin IRA as their primary retirement fund.
The success of the bitcoin IRA will, at least in part, be determined by the overall adoption of digital assets in the future. However, customizable crypto IRAs allow investors to “get in on the action” while keeping a manageable level of risk.
We’ve found one great way to minimize risk when investing in crypto is to follow a conservative strategy, such as that found in our Blockchain Believers Portfolio, which has a maximum allocation of 10% to crypto assets.
Investor Takeaway
Bitcoin IRAs remain a new financial product, but there are ways smart crypto investors can take advantage of these retirement accounts. Consider:
- Using qualified providers from our list
- Watching for fees
- Allocating no more than 10% crypto
- Utilizing quality crypto assets (using our ratings and scorecards)
When saving for retirement, safety is paramount, but that does not mean investors cannot make space for digital assets in their bitcoin IRAs. Using a self-directed IRA, along with the help of a qualified custodian from our list, will give investors more options when it comes to the allocation of their funds.
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