Best Bitcoin IRA Companies for January 2025

• Account Minimum: $10 
• Transaction Fees: 1% trading fee
• Insurance Protection: FDIC coverage for uninvested cash

Alto is the best overall Bitcoin IRA company for investors looking to diversify their retirement portfolio with crypto. That’s largely because of its cost-effective account requirements and pricing. The company offers its clients a $0 custody fee to invest. A minimum investment of $10 and a 1% trading fee are required. The large number of tradable assets is also beneficial. Investors who open an account with Alto have access to over 250 types of cryptocurrency, including popular digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano (ADA).  

Alto IRA was founded in 2015 and is currently headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. While it is a relatively new company, especially in the finance space, it is nonetheless Investopedia’s choice as the best overall Bitcoin IRA offering. Remember, cryptocurrency is highly volatile and speculative, posing risks that can cause investors to lose money. Still, Alto IRA has a cost-effective approach that customers will appreciate. 

Customers can open a Bitcoin IRA with just $10 yet incur $0 in custody or account fees. The only fee that traders have to pay is the 1% transaction fee. Many rivals charge 2% to buy crypto and 1% to sell crypto. Some assess high set-up fees. Many levy annual fees. So Alto IRA’s charge is relatively tame, and its price structure is transparent.

Customers have the option to open a traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA and can trade over 250 cryptocurrencies of their choosing while any capital gains in the account are tax-deferred or tax-free. While invested cryptocurrency in the account is not FDIC-insured, any uninvested cash is, but only up to the standard amount of $250,000. While the IRA is overseen by Alto IRA, its custodian is Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. That means Coinbase not only safeguards the assets in a combination of hot and cold storage safeguarding but also ensures that the assets are insured with commercial crime and cybercrime insurance.

Alto IRA offers a great service overall, but the company lacks fundamental and technical analysis capabilities. Customers who need to conduct research need to do it on another platform, such as Trading View. Also, the company’s educational offering could be better; it has an outdated podcast, and its blog and news do not provide relevant information. However, the company does have a decent enough glossary that explains cryptocurrency lingo.

• Account Minimum: $1,000
• Transaction Fees: 1% per transaction
• Insurance Protection: Commercial crime insurance policy

Best Rates and Fees

Investopedia found iTrustCapital to be the best Bitcoin IRA for rates and fees. The company offers a cost-effective process for opening a Bitcoin IRA. Upon opening an account, customers do not have to pay any account opening costs or monthly fees and will only be subject to a 1% transaction fee when adding crypto to the IRA.

Best Investor Experience

In addition to its cost-effective approach, iTrustCapital also wins the best investor experience category. Opening an account is easy and smooth. When clients are ready to fund an account, they have many options, ranging from transferring an existing IRA to rolling over an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), 457, 403(b), thrift savings plan (TSP), or funding it with regular contributions.          

iTrustCapital was founded in 2018 and is currently headquartered in Irvine, California, and is Investopedia’s choice for having the best rates and fees with respect to having a Bitcoin IRA. Although the company has a steep account minimum of $1,000 to open a Bitcoin IRA, it does not, come with any set-up fees or recurring monthly charges. The only relevant fee is a 1% transaction fee, which is very reasonable considering many other companies charge much more.

Along with its low operating costs, customers have access to a wide range of educational content, including informative articles and on-demand videos. While the news section could be more timely, it’s not a bad feature. iTrustCapital also offers decent research tools, although other external research sites provide better research capabilities. Clients and non-clients can get a quick overview of various cryptocurrencies offered by the platform. 

iTrustCapital offers its service at a very reasonable and competitive cost, but the company could do better at supporting its clients. For instance, clients needing customer service often find it difficult to get in touch quickly, as they have to schedule a date and time to talk to someone. As for financial guidance, the company simply does not offer access to financial advisors. Still, its support page is very helpful and put together very well. It addresses many potential problems so customers can resolve issues themselves.

• Account Minimum: $3,000
• Transaction Fees: $2.99% set-up fee, 2.00% trading fee, 0.08% monthly fee
• Insurance Protection: FDIC, Bitgo Wallet

Investopedia found that Bitcoin IRA, through its partnerships, offers the best digital asset insurance in the industry. While cash held in a Bitcoin IRA account is held by its banking partners, the FDIC insures it up to the standard amount of $250,000. But that’s not why it won this category. The insurance policy issued to its cryptocurrency wallet partner, Bitgo Wallet, covers that firm against loss, theft, and misuse of cryptocurrency for up to $250 million.

Bitcoin IRA was founded in 2016 and is now headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is Investopedia’s choice for the best digital asset insurance. While many financial platforms that offer Bitcoin IRAs provide FDIC insurance for uninvested cash, unfortunately, that may not be enough for some investors in the case of cryptocurrency. FDIC insurance only covers uninvested cash. Fortunately, Bitcoin IRA goes a step further in protecting customers’ accounts. 

Bitcoin IRA offers FDIC insurance up to $250,000 for uninvested cash. This cash will be deposited with its banking partner and will be held there until the customer is ready to invest in a cryptocurrency of their choice. Once the customer is ready to start investing and chooses the digital asset to invest in, the digital asset will be held with Bitcoin IRA’s cryptocurrency wallet partner, Bitgo Wallet. Bitgo Wallet insures its digital assets for up to $250 million for the disappearance, theft, or negligence of the custodian. It’s important to note this insurance does not cover lost value within the account for the cryptocurrency invested by the customer. 

Bitcoin IRA provides customers with peace of mind due to its high standards protecting their clients’ accounts. However, that peace of mind comes at a cost for customers considering opening an account with Bitcoin IRA. To open an account, customers must meet the $3,000 account minimum requirements.

Once the account is open, customers face relatively high fees when trading within the account. Set-up fees are 2.99% and are collected from deposited funds. Trading fees, which apply to buys and sells, cost 2.00% of the transaction value. And accounts cost 0.08% on a monthly basis. While BitCoin IRA is more expensive than many such platforms, having the type of insurance its partners provide makes it worth considering. 

• Account Minimum: $7,000 – $10,000
• Transaction Fees: 2% purchase fee, 1% sale fee, 1% liquidity fee
• Insurance Protection: FDIC 

BitIRA is best for security due to its high standards for protecting its clients’ Bitcoin IRAs. Customers who open an account with BitIRA can expect their accounts to be secured with multi-signature authorization and SOC 2 Type 2 certification, in addition to FDIC and end-to-end insurance. BitIRA also does a good job of educating its Bitcoin IRA holders about doing their part to secure and protect their accounts from scams, fraud, and bad actors alike.

BitIRA was founded in 2017 and is currently headquartered in Burbank, California, and is best for customers who emphasize security for their Bitcoin IRAs. Customers can expect their accounts to be secured with multi-signature authorization, which is managed by BitIRA’s partner Ledger Enterprise. This means that when account holders make a transaction, it undergoes a series of multi-layered encryption processes for each transaction to be authorized, keeping your account safe. 

BitIRA also adheres to a high degree of compliance and ensures it meets its SOC 2 Type 2 certification. It even registers itself as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FinCEN and fully complies with the IRS by partnering with Equity Trust Company, offering up to $4 million in FDIC insurance for uninvested cash deposits.

BitIRA offers an excellent secure service for Bitcoin IRA holders; however, it only offers 17 types of cryptocurrency. Customers will find that it offers the most popular, such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Lite Coin, and Solana, but customers who want more choices should carefully weigh whether BitIRA is their best option. 

Also, customers need to meet BitIRA’s high minimum deposit requirement to open a traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE IRA, or a Solo 401(k) account. Customers who want to open an account without conducting a rollover or transfer can do so with a $7,000 minimum. Customers who do intend to rollover an account or transfer need to move at least $10,000. However, there are no setup fees or recurring fees. While BitIRA partners with Equity Trust Company, customers can expect a 2% purchase fee, 1% sale fee, and 1% liquidity costs.

• Account Minimum: $500 
• Transaction Fees: 2% purchase fee, 1% sale fee, 1% liquidity costs
• Insurance Protection: FDIC

The Equity Trust Company is a premier service for self-directed IRAs, best suited for customers who want full control of their Bitcoin IRA. While self-directed accounts are complex and can be difficult to manage, the Equity Trust Company has structured its service to make the account opening process smooth and transparent, allowing access to many investor resources managing a self-directed account.   

Equity Trust Company was founded in 1974 and is currently headquartered in Westlake, Ohio. It is best for customers looking to open a self-directed Bitcoin IRA. However, what sets this company apart from other self-directed IRAs is how transparent the site is and the education and resources it offers to help customers manage their self-directed accounts. It is important to note that the company does not offer tax, legal, or investment advice. However, for administration purposes and general support services, customers have a wide range of communication options when contacting Equity Trust Company.

In addition to its customer service, its blog offers a strong educational component, touching on many topics, including investor insights, tax insights, and how to better manage your self-directed account. However, its Master Academy course comes at a cost. While it provides good value with a lot to offer, it can be expensive, costing $99 to $299, for topics on IRAs.

Customers wanting to open a self-directed Bitcoin IRA will find the Equity Trust Company a great option. The account opening process is easy and smooth, even though there is a $50 application fee and a minimum account of $500. Customers can choose between a traditional, Roth, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA in addition to a solo 401(k) or a Roth 401(k). 

Once a customer opens a Bitcoin IRA with Equity Trust Company, the account holder can add crypto to their account. Customers can expect purchase fees of 2%, sale fees of 1%, and liquidity fees also at 1%. Those fees are assessed when the account holder executes trades. Although the company offers a limited variety of crypto, it does allow access to popular coins such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.