Crypto IRA: How It Works, What You Can Hold, Fees, and Rules

Think of a crypto IRA as a regular retirement account with digital assets inside it.

The appeal is crypto in an account that follows IRA tax rules. Those rules come with limits, and a few are strict.

This guide covers how it works, what you can hold, the fees to compare, and the IRS rules, with the figures for 2026. It's general information, not tax or investment advice.

What Is a Crypto IRA?

A Crypto IRA is a self-directed, tax-advantaged retirement account, such as a Traditional, Roth, or SEP IRA, that allows you to buy and sell digital assets within an IRA.

With a self-directed IRA, you have more control over the investments held in your account, including the ability to invest in certain alternative assets such as cryptocurrency.

For U.S. tax purposes, the IRS generally treats digital assets as property rather than currency. While cryptocurrency itself cannot typically be contributed directly to an IRA, funds within an IRA may be used to purchase digital assets through a provider that supports cryptocurrency investing.

Crypto IRAs are sometimes referred to as Bitcoin IRAs, although they may offer access to cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin. Like other IRAs, they are subject to applicable IRS rules regarding contributions, rollovers, distributions, and taxes.

How a Crypto IRA Works

A Crypto IRA works much like a self-directed IRA, but with access to digital assets.

The platform is where you open and manage the account, while a qualified third-party custodian holds the IRA assets on your behalf. You decide what to buy and sell within the account.

Under IRS rules, an IRA custodian generally must be a bank, qualifying credit union, savings and loan association, or another entity approved by the IRS.

In this article, we use iTrustCapital as an example of a platform that provides access to both traditional and alternative assets.

iTrustCapital is a financial technology platform and is not an exchange, custodian, trust company, broker-dealer, or investment adviser. It also does not provide legal, investment, or tax advice.

To invest, you fund the IRA and use those funds to buy cryptocurrency within the account. Because the assets are held within the IRA structure, they generally cannot be transferred to a personal crypto wallet or used for personal purchases.

One of the key features of an IRA is its tax treatment. Investment gains within the account are generally not taxed when a transaction occurs. Instead, taxes typically apply when funds are distributed from a Traditional IRA, while qualified Roth IRA distributions may be tax-free.

Our IRA guide covers the basics in more detail.

What You Can Hold in a Crypto IRA

What you can hold in a Crypto IRA depends on the platform and the types of assets it supports. As of November 2026, iTrustCapital offers access to 100+ cryptocurrencies, physical gold and silver, and 10,000+ stocks and ETFs. Available assets are subject to change.

For precious metals, IRS Publication 590-A identifies certain exceptions that may be held within an IRA, including:

Most collectibles are not permitted in an IRA. The IRS generally includes items such as artwork, rugs, antiques, gems, stamps, alcoholic beverages, and certain metals or coins that do not meet the applicable exceptions.

Personal-use property is also generally prohibited within an IRA. We cover these restrictions in more detail below.

Traditional, Roth, or SEP: How the Taxes Work

Traditional Crypto IRA

In a traditional IRA, amounts in the account, including earnings, generally aren't taxed until you take them out. When the money comes out, it's generally taxed as income.

Once you reach age 73, you generally must start taking withdrawals called required minimum distributions, or RMDs. The first is due by April 1 of the year after you reach that age.

Crypto Roth IRA

Qualified distributions from a Roth IRA, earnings included, aren't subject to tax or penalty. The section on taking money out explains what qualified means.

As the original owner, you don't have to take RMDs at any age. A beneficiary who inherits the account may have to.

Your Roth contribution may be limited based on your filing status and income. If you don't have one yet, here's how to open a Roth IRA.

SEP IRA

A SEP IRA is a traditional IRA that an employer pays into for its employees and for the owner. Any employer, including a self-employed person, can set one up. It follows the same investment, distribution, and rollover rules as a traditional IRA, including RMDs.

Converting to a Roth IRA

You can also convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Our Roth conversion guide explains how.

How to Fund a Crypto IRA

You can fund a crypto IRA account with fresh money or with money already in a retirement account.

Contributions, other than rollovers, must be money: cash, a check, or a money order. Property can't be contributed.

For 2026, the total you put into all your traditional and Roth IRAs can't be more than $7,500. If you're 50 or older, the 2026 catch-up of $1,100 raises that to $8,600. If your taxable compensation for the year is lower, that's your limit. Rollover contributions don't count toward this limit.

Retirement money you already have can move in two ways:

Crypto you already own outside an IRA can't be deposited. Coins on an exchange or in your own wallet are property, so the cash rule keeps them out. And yes, that includes coins you've held for years.

Coins already inside another crypto IRA are a different case. They can move over as they are, in an in-kind transfer, if the platform you're moving to accepts it.

Crypto IRA Fees: What to Compare

Check a platform's fee page for these fee types:

Some platforms charge no account or custody fees and only take a trading fee.

Worked Example: How Fees Add Up

Below are examples of possible fees only to illustrate the math.

Say you keep $10,000 in a crypto IRA for one year, and its value doesn't change. Your platform charges a 1% trading fee and a 0.04% monthly custody fee.

Trading fees add up with every trade. A custody fee adds up every month and rises with your balance.

What One Platform Charges

Here are the fees iTrustCapital listed on its pricing page in November 2026. It notes that all fees and charges are subject to change.

As of November 2026, the minimum initial contribution is $1,000, and each Roth conversion costs $75. Both are subject to change.

Our iTrustCapital review has the full breakdown. In its example, the 1% fee means buying $5,000 of crypto costs $50. Selling $5,000 later costs another $50, plus any spread in the price.

IRS Rules You Can't Break

Prohibited Transactions

The IRS calls any improper use of your IRA a prohibited transaction. The rule covers you, your beneficiary, and any disqualified person.

Disqualified persons include your fiduciary, meaning anyone with authority over the account or who gives it investment advice for a fee. They also include family members: your spouse, ancestors such as parents, lineal descendants such as children, and any spouse of a lineal descendant.

The IRS gives these examples:

If you or your beneficiary does one of these, the account stops being an IRA as of January 1 of the same year. The IRS then treats it as paying out all its assets to you that day, at fair market value. So one mistake in December reaches back to January 1.

Collectibles

If a traditional IRA buys a collectible, the IRS treats the amount spent as paid out to you that year. You may also owe the 10% additional tax on early distributions.

The Rollover Limit

The IRS allows only one IRA-to-IRA rollover in any 12-month period, no matter how many IRAs you own. A rollover here means the money is paid to you first, and you have 60 days to deposit it.

A trustee-to-trustee transfer isn't a rollover, so the limit doesn't apply to it.

Taking Money Out

From a Traditional IRA

Withdrawals from a traditional crypto IRA are generally taxed as income. If you're under 59½, the IRS adds a 10% additional tax on the taxable portion, in addition to regular income tax. Exceptions exist, such as up to $10,000 over your lifetime for a qualified first-time homebuyer.

From a Roth IRA

A Roth IRA withdrawal is tax-free with no penalty when it's a qualified distribution. To qualify, it has to occur after the 5-year period that starts with the first tax year for which you made a Roth IRA contribution. It also has to meet one of these conditions:

For the timing details, see when you can withdraw from a Roth IRA.

Risks to Weigh

Illiquid means hard to sell when you want to.

An IRA changes the tax rules. The assets behave the same, so a coin can fall just as hard inside the account as outside it.

You also rely on two companies, the platform and the custodian. Before you open an account, check who does what.

And IRA money is meant for retirement. Take it out early, and you may owe an additional tax.

Is a Crypto IRA Right for You?

A crypto IRA can suit you if:

Look elsewhere if:

How to Open a Crypto IRA

Here's what you need to do, in order: