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Warning: Trading in cryptocurrency is highly speculative and carries a high level of risk. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose.
Are you looking to use your IRA to invest in cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Which one should you choose, BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital or Coinbase?
In this detailed comparison review, I am going to go through all the important aspects such as its product offers, platform security and fees to help you make an informed decision.
BitcoinIRA Vs iTrustCapital Vs Coinbase: How It Works
First of all, let’s see how BitcoinIRA works.
With BitcoinIRA, you can open an account as fast as a few minutes.
There are three types of self-directed IRA accounts you can create:
- Bitcoin IRA
- Bitcoin 401(k)
- Bitcoin Roth IRA
Once your account is created, you need to transfer your funds either by rolling over an existing IRA or 401(K) account or contributing new funds.
You can start investing immediately after your account is funded.
There is one thing to note.
BitcoinIRA is NOT a custodian.
It is a platform that connects you to qualified custodians, digital wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges.
So, your IRA investments will be custodied by a company called “BitGo Trust Company” which is a non-fiduciary trust company, registered and regulated in the state of South Dakota as a non-depository trust company.
What about iTrustCapital?
Just like BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital is also an IRA and 401k platform that partners with qualified custodians and digital wallets.
Currently, it works with both Curv and Coinbase Custody to secure its client’s digital assets.
The account opening process is also similar to BitcoinIRA.
Once your IRA account or 401(K) is funded, you are ready to start investing in crypto or precious metal such as gold.
Lastly, let’s look at Coinbase.
Coinbase itself DOES NOT offer IRA accounts.
But, it has partnered with Regal Assets which offers Regal IRA and 401(K).
Here’s how it works.
First, you need to fill out an online application.
Then, a team member from Regal Assets will contact you to help set up your IRA account.
Once your Regal IRA account is funded, you are ready to invest in alternative investment assets such as crypto and precious metals.
BitcoinIRA Vs iTrustCapital Vs Coinbase: Cryptocurrency
Now, let’s compare BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital and Coinbase in terms of the number of cryptocurrencies and other alternative investment asset classes being offered for IRA investments.
For BitcoinIRA, you can buy the following 8 cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ripple (XRP)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Stellar Lumens (XLM)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
You can also buy investment-grade gold bars with BitcoinIRA self-directed IRA accounts.
On the other hand, for iTrustCapital self-directed IRA, you can buy all the cryptocurrencies offered by Bitcoin IRA and a few more coins such as Solana, Polygon, Aave, Uniswap and Chainlink( i.e. a total of about 24 cryptocurrecies)
Also, you can invest in both gold and silver with iTrustCapital self-directed IRA.
For Coinbase, it offers the widest range of cryptocurrecies that you can buy and sell, which is a total of about 124 cryptocurrencies.
If you want to use your IRA to invest in cryptocurrencies, Coinbase has partnered with Regal Assets and Kingdom Trust to offer insured Bitcoin and Crypto IRA and 401(K) accounts in the US.
With Regal IRA and 401(K), you can invest in the most well-known coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as the next-generation coins such as EOS and Tezos.
On top of that, you can invest in precious metals such as Gold using Regal IRA.
BitcoinIRA Vs iTrustCapital Vs Coinbase: Earn Interest On IRA Cash & Crypto
Right now, only BitcoinIRA allow you to earn very good interest on your IRA cash and crypto holdings while iTrustCapital and Coinbase do not have the option right now.
With BitcoinIRA, you could earn 6% on your cash!
Given the close to zero interest you get from your cash in your bank account, 6% is considered to be extremely attractive.
What is more, earnings are accrued daily and paid out every month.
There is also NO LOCKUP period to earn interest, so you have the flexibility to cancel any time.
To start, you simply need as little as 10,000 to be eligible.
Here’s a calculator to show you how much you could earn on your crypto.
Now, let’s take a look at Coinbase.
Coinbase itself does not offer IRA accounts.
Instead, it partners with Regal Assets to offer Regal IRA.
With Regal IRA, you cannot earn interest on your cash or crypto holding.
But, as a regular Coinbase client that trades cryptocurrency with your cash (i.e. non-IRA money), you can earn staking awards on Coinbase.
Below is the estimated return you could expect from staking your crypto with Coinbase.
Of course, you can stake your crypto on your own but it is very difficult to do and it also requires a sizable deposit and bond.
With Coinbase, it just takes a few simple clicks.
Also, you just need as little as $1 to get started.
BitcoinIRA Vs iTrustCapital Vs Coinbase: Fees & Charges
Now, let’s compare the fees charged by BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital and Coinbase.
With BitcoinIRA, there is an initial one-time service fee that varies, depending on your investment amount.
This service fee covers the following:
- full support services for rollover of retirement funds
- complete set up of a self-directed retirement account with BitGo Trust
- best-in-class security storage
Based on a 5-year hold, if your initial investment amount is between “$5,000 – 49,900”, the annual platform fee is 2.5%.
If you invest $100,000 or more, your annual platform fee drops to 1.5%.
For custodial fees, you have an annual account fee of $240 as well as wallet holding fee of 0.05%.
Also, there is 1% fee for every sell order and 5% for every buy order.
Now, what about Coinbase’s partner Regal IRA?
Regal IRA requires an initial investment of $25,000.
In terms of fees, it charges a $100 annual administration fee and a $150 yearly storage fee.
Both fees are waived for the first year.
What about iTrustCapital?
Previously, there was a monthly $29.95 account fee, but they have recently dropped the monthly fee.
As for transaction fees, it is 1% for each cryptocurrency transaction and $50 over spot for gold.
So, you can see that iTrustCapital offers the lowest fees when compared with BitcoinIRA and Regal IRA.
Should you go with the self-directed IRA with the lowest fees?
BitcoinIRA Vs iTrustCapital Vs Coinbase: Is it Safe?
Now, will your IRA investments be safe when you invest with BitcoinIRA or iTrustCapital or Coinbase?
When you invest your retirement money in cryptocurrencies, you want to make sure that your cryptocurrencies are safe.
Why?
There are so many cases where hackers stole millions worth of cryptocurrencies from exchanges.
And the safest way to store cryptocurrency is to store it offline in cold storage.
With BitcoinIRA, your cryptocurrencies are stored with BitGo Trust which is powered by BitGo Inc.’s technology.
BitGo Inc. is the world’s largest processor of on-chain Bitcoin transactions, processing 20% of all global Bitcoin transactions and holding over $2 billion in assets in wallet.
Your cryptocurrencies are placed offline, in segregated cold storage accounts at BitGo Trust, a US-Based Qualified Custodian.
Lastly, your custodial assets are insured for up to $100 million.
What about iTrustCapital?
It has been working with Curv, a cryptocurrency security company that helps you store your crypto assets securely.
Curv offers a cloud-based service that lets you access your crypto wallets without any hardware device.
Recently, iTrustCapital also announced their integration with Coinbase Custody, one of the industry’s leading cold storage providers.
So, it is working with both to help store client’s digital assets.
If you buy Gold and silver through iTrustCapital, they are stored and guaranteed by the Royal Canadian Mint.
Now, what about Coinbase?
Coinbase is relatively secure.
It stores up to 97% of bitcoins in encrypted, geographically separated, offline storage.
To further protect their customers, all of the bitcoins stored in online computers are insured.
So, in terms of asset security, I think BitcoinIRA and Coinbase would be the safest compared to iTrustCapital.
Which Should You Choose?
Which should you choose, BitcoinIRA, iTrustCapital or Coinbase?
In terms of fees, iTrustCapital offers the lowest fees among all.
When it comes to digital asset security, BitcoinIRA would be better than both iTrustCapital and Coinbase.
In terms of cryptocurrencies that you can invest, Coinbase offers the widest range compared with BitcoinIRA and iTrustCapital.
So, if you are only considering investing in the most well-known crypto such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, then I would recommend BitcoinIRA although the fees are not cheap.
But, if you want to trade cryptocurrency with your non-IRA money, then Coinbase would be a better option.
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