A typical IRA, short for an individual retirement account, is a great thing to have in your portfolio, but it shouldn’t be the only thing. With the global economy facing more uncertainties, it’s impractical to rely on paper-based money models like these solely.
Some have turned to precious metals IRAs, which is definitely a great option. More recently, many people have opted for IRAs for cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is like no other currency, and that makes their IRAs unique as well. You need a real-savvy type to handle your account, especially with valid security concerns. Your IRA custodian also needs to know how trading cryptocurrency works. We’ve looked at some of the best Bitcoin IRAs around, factoring in many essential qualifications.
First, we’ll go over some common questions about Bitcoins.
Can I Buy Bitcoin in an IRA?
The very first question before anything else is can Bitcoin be held in an IRA? The answer is two sided. Yes you can buy it and hold it, however not all companies work with cryptocurrencies.
Depending on your custodian, they may not offer crypto and therefore you'd have to change custodians if you wanted to include Bitcoin in your portfolio. The companies we'll review later on specifically work with crypto.
How do Individual Retirement Accounts Work?
A Bitcoin IRA simply lets you bring cryptocurrencies into your investment portfolio. Bitcoin is classified as property by the IRS, and they’re subject to taxes. That means you need someone qualified to handle your account.
There are unique firms for people to trade their Bitcoin safely and which have digital storage options. More on that later.
How to Choose a Reputable Company?
Before choosing a IRA company, you need to examine two things: their security and their costs. Cryptocurrency is entirely separate from paper assets, and hacking can be devastating for investors.
So, assets are kept in digital vaults that safeguard against hacking and keeps investments insured, provided they don’t surpass the maximum value allowed.
Think as well about costs. You’ll likely have multiple fees included in your account, such as storage. This could take a substantial bite out of your earnings potential. Finally, make sure your IRA company has a good reputation with all kinds of IRAs.
Ideally, you want to find a company who has many recent (and consistent) 5 star reviews from customers. There are hundreds of companies out there, but only a handful meet this criteria.
Is This Type of Investment Safe?
Although some might think that the novelty of cryptocurrencies means these IRAs are always going to be at least a little dangerous, that’s not a universal truth. However, you need to be incredibly diligent with choosing a company to work with.
Bitcoin IRA firms totally understand this. Their encoding and other safety measures are meant to instill an overall sense of trust. There are things you might’ve never thought of, but once you learn about them, you’ll get why they exist. Stay away from firms that having lackluster security features.
What are the Main Benefits?
The primary argument for these type of IRAs is how they diversify your portfolio. That means you can have more money for retirement and feel way more secure. If you’ve already invested in precious metals, you know how helpful multiple options are.
While cryptocurrencies are far newer than cash and gold, they have tremendous upside despite the volatility. Getting in on Bitcoin now is like the original gold rush. You can see a massive increase in your portfolio by getting in before the price explodes further. Plus, you can stay away from some aggressive taxation with them.
The Best of the Best
We went over close to one dozen IRAs to make our picks. To start, we looked for businesses with plenty of IRA management history. They also needed to offer Bitcoin IRAs, obviously.
Next, we thought about security fears. We know how a breach could leave an IRA completely void. Therefore, we only went for ones that have top-level security and excellent insurance plans, in case anything were to happen.
Next, we went for ones that weren’t too expensive. We don’t want unfair fees stifling your portfolio progress.
Lastly, we wanted to find companies where lots of customers were raving about and left positive reviews.
BitIRA is a great IRA company because of its robust insurance and private key storage, done offline. They’re also comfortably the most secure firm.
While BitIRA started in 2017, it doesn’t feel like that new of a company. Their security is practically unmatched when it comes to processing orders and storing them. There’s also no limit on insurance. You truly know you’re in good hands when you’re working with BitIRA.
Much of their security success is thanks to their layered encryption methods. Anyone trying to breach this is going to be in for a rude awakening. After an order is finished, it’s put in physical keys with offline storage. However, these aren’t some kind of file cabinet. These are full-on bunkers with constant security.
BitIRA also has impressive insurance. Every single digital good here has an exact dollar backup. That kind of credibility is rare. Plus, you can get a million-dollar insurance policy in case your funds are stolen, as well as a million-dollar cybersecurity plan.
You need to invest at least $5,000 with BitIRA and hire an expert to help you start your account. There are six cryptocurrencies to choose from. Besides Bitcoin, there’s Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple.
While there are no fees posted on the BitIRA, research tells us that it’s $50 to start your account, $195 for yearly maintenance, and 0.05 percent is charged each month for storage.
Pros
Cons
Regal Assets have IRAs with dual designs. You can invest in hard and digital assets, which includes cryptocurrencies. This is our favorite firm for cryptocurrency diversity.
Regal Assets started in 2010, but they didn’t start dealing with cryptocurrencies until 2017. While precious metals were the initial focus, they couldn’t ignore the allure of cryptocurrencies.
It’s simple to start your Regal Account, but it’s not cheap. You need to start with a $25,000 investment. If you already have a traditional IRA, you can deposit those funds into a Bitcoin based IRA.
Regal Assets has a very important claim to fame. They were the first of their kind to receive a license for crypto trading. While there are 14 cryptocurrencies listed on the site, there’s no apparent limit on which cryptocurrencies they’ll allow.
There are fees, but they’re offered at flat rates. Administration is $100, and annual storage is $150. If you’ve bought precious metals can choose an offshore storage plan.
Pros
Cons
Bitcoin IRA is a company strongly focused on cryptocurrency. They have ‘round-the-clock trading, exhaustive storage, and $100 million insurance.
You can get your account rolling in less than 10 minutes. They have both an excellent desktop site and an awesome mobile app. After your funds are deposited, you’ll have between three and five days to start trading. Then, you can create a schedule for when you trade. Thanks to the 24/7 trading, you can be quite flexible with this.
You can invest in nine different cryptocurrencies with them. For most accounts, you need to invest at least $3,000. However, there’s also the Saver IRA, which only needs a $100 deposit. However, you will need to invest $100 every month, via your bank.
There are no costs on their website. Other sources tell us the beginning investment comes with an additional fee, between 10 and 15 percent. There also seems to be a yearly custodian fee of $240, $75 for converting assets, 5% for purchasing, and one percent for selling.
Pros
Cons
Final Verdict: Which Bitcoin IRA Custodian Is Victorious?
With IRA firms seeing the light about Bitcoin and other kinds of cryptocurrency, you need a sound plan yourself. This begins with finding a quality Bitcoin IRA custodian. You should factor in their qualifications, security features, and customer service. A company being decent should not be enough. That’s the bare minimum, and there’s so much better out there.
We chose BitIRA as the best because of its ease of use, non-stop trading availability, and awesome security. How can you not feel safe with literal bunker and guard storage?
The runner-up is Regal Assets, because they have a great range of cryptocurrencies allowed. Make sure you know about the cryptocurrency you're investing in, of course.
Whichever one sounds better for you is the right one. Think about your earnings and what your retirement hopes are. Let us know if you have any other questions and we'll be happy to assist.