6 Best Bitcoin/Crypto IRAs of March 2023 (Trusted and Verified)

Looking to stay ahead of the investment curve? 

A Bitcoin or crypto individual retirement account (IRA) is a great solution to consider. With the massive growth of cryptocurrency, investing in a self-directed, tax-advantaged account has become a popular option for millions.

If you are reading this article, chances are you have heard about Bitcoin IRAs and Crypto IRAs and might think they are synonymous. In fact, most people believe crypto is the same thing as Bitcoin. The two are very different and it’s important to distinguish why. 

Let’s just set the record straight:

“Crypto” is a term that refers more broadly to cryptocurrencies created by a small group of individuals that utilize a form of blockchain technology with varying degrees of centralization. 

Altcoin cryptocurrencies are not legally well-defined and were usually funded with a pre-sale token agreement where the development team owns a guaranteed token share at launch similar to an IPO.

In addition, the SEC has recently made these types of investments the target of investigations that threaten the long-term viability of these altcoins.

Bitcoin is a fully decentralized, legally recognized commodity with no central authority, issuer, or single point of failure. Unlike altcoins, Bitcoin was launched without a pre-sale, and the core development team cannot directly control the direction of the protocol alone. 

The supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, which means that as adoption and demand grow it will continue to appreciate in value. This is evidenced by the strong price history it has maintained for over 14 years.

So if you remember one thing from this article and stop reading right now  remember this:

Invest in a Bitcoin-only IRA.

Bitcoin is considered by most to be in a completely different asset class from other virtual currency and alternative crypto assets.

A “crypto IRA” will include other very risky tokens and cryptocurrency IRA investments with major liabilities for IRA providers and represent an unnecessary danger and risk to retirees.

Investing in the right Bitcoin IRA and not a crypto IRA can be confusing. After all, many “Bitcoin IRAs” hold other types of tokens. It’s important to carefully consider several factors before making any investment decisions. Here are some key things to look for: 

Just because it says “Bitcoin IRA” in the title or on the page doesn’t mean other tokens are not involved. Read the fine print and ask the following questions to make sure it is a Bitcoin-only IRA:

Who is the company and custodian behind the IRA product? 

What is the history of this company? 

Where are they located?

1. Security: Digital assets can be vulnerable to hacking and theft. Choosing an IRA with strong security measures is essential to protect your investment.

2. Fees: Carefully review the fees charged by the custodian and provider. Hidden and unnecessarily high fees will eat into your returns over time.

3. Custodian Reputation: When investing in a Bitcoin IRA, you’ll entrust your assets to a custodian. It’s important to research the custodian’s reputation and ensure they are trustworthy.

4. Investment Options: Some Bitcoin and crypto IRA custodians offer a range of investment options beyond Bitcoin, such as other cryptocurrencies, gold, and silver, or even traditional assets like stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and exposure to real estate products. Consider your investment goals and risk tolerance when evaluating these options.

5. Tax Implications: Investing in a Bitcoin IRA can have tax implications. Be sure to understand these before making any investments. For example, gains on Bitcoin investments held within an IRA may be subject to taxes when the funds are withdrawn.

6. Regulation: The regulatory environment around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is constantly evolving. Staying current on any new regulations or legal developments impacting your Bitcoin IRA investment is prudent.

Best for Bitcoin-only IRA, Customer Service

Company URL: SwanBitcoin.com 
Founded: 2019
Headquartered in: Los Angeles, California
Bitcoin-only IRA (No Altcoin Options): Yes
Fees: 0.99% 
Custody Provider: Prime Trust

Swan Bitcoin aims to make it easy to buy and hold Bitcoin and provide a simple and secure platform to access the benefits of Bitcoin as a long-term investment. Swan removes the complexity and confusion associated with buying and holding Bitcoin, making it accessible to a broader audience with very low fees.

Swan does not offer Bitcoin Cash or other Bitcoin hard fork investment products.

IRA Options

Swan Bitcoin offers self-directed Traditional or Roth IRAs, with Bitcoin held in a legal, regulated trust account held by a qualified custodian authorized to hold and manage assets on behalf of clients. Qualified custodians ensure the protection of assets, compliance with regulations, and independent oversight to help prevent fraud and the unauthorized use of funds. The Swan Bitcoin IRA will not be available to international customers at launch. 

Pricing and Fees

We have a very streamlined account opening and transfer process with no minimum balance requirements and low fees. Our IRA account onboarding process can be completed in one business day. Swan IRA accounts have a flat monthly administration fee of $20 until a balance of $100,000. Above $100,000, the monthly administration fee is 0.02083% of the balance at month end (0.25% annually).

Swan does not support credit card payments via Visa, Mastercard, or American Express.

Per IRS regulations, buy and sell transaction fees are 0.99%, funded from IRA funds. All administration fees will be charged monthly from outside the IRA balance.

Custody Provider

The Swan Bitcoin IRA holds Bitcoin in a custodial legal trust account at Prime Trust, a regulated U.S. chartered trust company in your name as the beneficial owner. 

Swan Bitcoin is available in 46 states as well as most inter­na­tional countries. Although some Swan products are available in international countries, the Swan IRA will not be available to international customers at launch. For international customers and U.S. residents in New York (N.Y.), Texas (TX), South Dakota (S.D.), or Hawaii (H.I.), please get in touch with our advisor team at ira@swanbitcoin.com to learn more.  

We advocate a long-time horizon investment planning strategy with a Bitcoin-only approach. Take control of your financial future and join the Bitcoin revolution today with a Swan Bitcoin IRA. It’s one of the best ways for U.S. residents or taxpayers to hold Bitcoin in a self-directed, tax-advantaged way. 

Company URL: iTrustCapital.com
Founded: 2018
Headquartered in: Los Angeles, California
Bitcoin-only IRA (No Altcoin Options): No. 25+ cryptocurrencies.
Fees: 1% with a $1,000 account minimum + $500 additional contribution minimum
Custody Provider: M2 Trust Services

iTrustCapital, established in 2018, is one of the best 'crypto IRA' options if you value alternative crypto exposure availability due to the wide range of tokens available. iTrustCapital offers a variety of IRA options, including traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. 

Their crypto IRA platform offers Bitcoin and over 25 crypto assets, plus gold and silver options. There are no setup or monthly fees; transaction fees are only 1%. Account minimums begin at $1,000, plus a $500 additional contribution minimum. iTrustCapital does not support any credit card options.

Even though iTrustCapital has some of the lowest fees of any crypto IRA account provider, Swan has a very similar fee structure without the same minimum investment constraints. 

Custody Provider

iTrustCapital is partnered with a third-party custodian, M2 Trust Services. It utilizes Signature Bank, an FDIC-insured bank, to deposit its clients' USD. It charges $20 per month or 0.25% for its services. They also partner with Coinbase Custody. 

Company URL: Unchained.com
Founded: 2017
Headquartered in: Austin, Texas
True Bitcoin IRA (No Altcoin Options): Yes
Fees: .5% plus a $995 setup fee, and a $6,000 account minimum
Custody Provider: Solera National Bank

Unchained Capital is a financial services company that offers a Bitcoin-only IRA. Their product is designed to enable users to invest in Bitcoin within a self-directed IRA account. It provides a range of features and benefits and may be a suitable option for investors interested in diversifying their retirement portfolios with cryptocurrency investments.

Unchained also does not offer Bitcoin Cash or any other hard fork products. 

Unchained acts as the custodian of the Bitcoin assets held within the IRA account in partnership with Solera. They store the Bitcoin in a multi-signature cold storage vault, secured by multiple layers of encryption and authentication.

Their IRA product charges a flat annual fee of $150 for account administration and storage, plus a setup fee of $995. The minimum account amount required to start is $6000, among the highest of any provider. In comparison, Swan’s IRA product has no setup fee costs and no minimums to get started. 

Additionally, it can take up to 5 business days to complete an account setup with Unchained. This process can be completed in one day with a Swan Bitcoin IRA account. 

Unchained Capital provides dedicated support to its Bitcoin IRA investors. This includes assistance with account setup and ongoing support for investment management and account administration.

Company URL: Altoira.com
Founded: 2015
Headquartered in: Nashville, Tennessee
Bitcoin-only IRA (No Altcoin Options): No. 200+ cryptocurrencies
Fees: 1% plus a $10 monthly account fee 
Custody Provider: Coinbase plus FDIC-insured accounts

Alto IRA is one of the lowest-cost Crypto IRA providers. Alto offers the largest basket of altcoin IRA options of any major provider with more than 200 crypto IRA options. They achieved this range of diversity due to its proximity and integration with Coinbase. 

Their platform offers Roth, SEP, and Traditional Bitcoin and Crypto IRA options. 

Alto offers industry-competitive rates and fees with 1% trade fees, a $50 account closure fee, and $25 for outbound wire transfers. Investors pay a $10/month account fee or $100/year (with two months free).

If account minimums are a priority, Alto is a consideration. Alto accounts allow investments beginning as low as $10. Swan Bitcoin IRA and Alto IRA offer the lowest minimums of any provider. 

Custody Provider

A primary downside to using Alto is its exposure and reliance on third-party custody services. While Swan Bitcoin uses Prime Trust, one step removed from private key ownership, customers of Alto rely on Coinbase to ensure the security of their assets.

Company URL: Bitcoinira.com
Founded: 2016
Headquartered in: California, USA
Bitcoin-only IRA (No Altcoin Options)? No. 60+ cryptocurrencies
Fees: 2% plus 5.99% setup fee with a $100 minimum
Custody Provider: BitGo Trust

Founded in 2016, Bitcoin IRA launched a self-directed cryptocurrency IRA in 2019.

BitcoinIRA offers a Bitcoin IRA, Bitcoin 401k, Bitcoin Roth IRA, various Crypto IRAs, and a Saver IRA option. If investing in a Saver IRA account is important, Bitcoin IRA might be for you. Bitcoin IRA provides prospective customers with a 15-minute IRA consultation embedded calendar feature.

Account minimums, start at $100 a month. However, one of the downsides of using Bitcoin IRA is their high setup fee of 5.99% for the initial deposit. Its 2% trading fee is also double that of Swan and most competitors. Customers are charged a monthly account fee of 0.08%. 

Bitcoin IRA has a large customer base; mainly through its promotion as a Bitcoin IRA company. However, despite the name, their crypto IRA platform shills over 60+ other cryptocurrencies and alternative assets within their portfolio which has proven to be detrimental to their customer base.

While Bitcoin IRA uses the Bitcoin name to offer other altcoins to their customers for higher fees, Swan Bitcoin is exclusively a Bitcoin IRA with far lower fees and best-in-class customer service.

Company URL: Coinira.com
Founded: 2017
Headquartered in: Woodland Hills, California
Bitcoin-only IRA (No Altcoin Options)? No. 20+ cryptocurrencies & gold and silver options
Fees: 1.25% plus a $5,000 account minimum
Custody Provider: Equity Trust Company

Coin IRA will appeal most to gold bugs. Coin IRAs product was founded by Gold IRA company Goldco in 2017 to meet the increasing demand for Bitcoin and other crypto-based alternative assets in retirement accounts among its customer base. Coin IRA became an accredited Better Business Bureau member in 2017. 

Their platform offers individual IRAs, Bitcoin, and more than 20 additional altcoins IRA options. It also provides fractional gold and silver accounts. 

Coin IRA’s transaction fees are some of the highest in the industry. It charges 1.25% on buy trades, 1% on sell orders, and 2.25% on assisted trades. There is a $10 minimum trade amount but no monthly or storage fees. Account minimums begin at $5,000. 

Swan Bitcoin fees and minimums are lower than Coin IRA provides. 

Custody Provider

Coin IRA uses Equity Trust Company as its custodian.

IRAs offer tax benefits, investment flexibility, and the potential for compound growth. They complement other retirement savings like 401(k)s or pensions and are popular, low-risk investments for several reasons:

Diversification: IRAs typically offer the option to invest in various assets, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. This helps to reduce the risk of loss by spreading investments across different asset classes.

Regulation: IRAs are regulated by the government, which helps provide a certain level of protection for investors. Traditional IRAs have contribution limits, and Roth IRAs have income limits for contributions.

Professional Management: Many IRAs are managed by financial professionals trained to make investment decisions and manage risk. This helps to reduce the risk of loss due to poor investment decisions.

Long-Term Investment Horizon: IRAs are designed for long-term savings and typically have a minimum holding period of several years. This helps to reduce the risk of loss due to short-term market volatility.

Tax Benefits: Both traditional and Roth IRAs offer tax benefits that can help to reduce the overall risk of loss. For example, traditional IRAs offer tax-deferred growth, while Roth IRAs offer tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

First-time Bitcoin investors often decide to take on exposure to proxy-Bitcoin investments like Grayscale (GBTC) shares, Marathon Holdings, and RIOT Blockchain mining stock, or publicly traded stocks like Microstrategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), Tesla (TSLA), and Square (S.Q.).

… instead of buying Bitcoin, the bearer asset.

While these are great starting points for many, at Swan, we believe buying Bitcoin and owning the private keys is the best way to invest in the network.

The second best option: Investing in a Swan Bitcoin IRA account. 

While some have characterized Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme, if you spend enough time studying the properties of the network, you come to understand why Bitcoin is not a Ponzi but learn that other cryptocurrencies and alternative assets share many Ponzi-like characteristics.

A crypto IRA basket of top-10 cryptocurrencies from 5 to 10 years ago could have resulted in significant financial loss for many retirement accounts. Our article on Bitcoin vs. Altcoins sheds light on this and serves as an important reminder for investors why we advocate a Bitcoin-only investment approach.

+99 percent of alternative cryptocurrencies are:

• Centralized ecosystems with rent-seekers

• A pyramid or Ponzi scheme

• Vaporware

• Redundant software/technology

If you invest in a Crypto IRA product with exposure to altcoin products, you risk losing 100% of your investment or investing in a basket composed of tokens that are likely to lose market share to Bitcoin over time.

Bitcoin is still a relatively new and speculative asset. However, most cryptocurrencies are less than half of Bitcoin’s age. As with any investment, it’s important to carefully consider the risks and consult a financial advisor before including Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in a retirement portfolio. 

Investing in the future of finance has never been easier with Swan Bitcoin. Our platform provides you with complete control over your investment portfolio and the added benefit of tax advantages, ensuring a secure financial future for you and your loved ones.

With the support of our expert team, the process is seamless, and any questions you may have will be promptly answered. Take advantage of this exciting opportunity to control your financial future today with a Swan Bitcoin IRA.

Learn more about our IRA product and speak with a Swan today.