Is it safe to put Bit Coin in an IRA for retirement?

[NanoPixel]

I am new here and have been doing research for the past few weeks on crypto currencies, mining and blockchain development. I ran across a few adds claiming to provide you with a self directed Bit Coin IRA. At first glance I thought this was a good idea and planned on transferring a certain amount of money from my 401k. I tried to find reviews on this and it seems people are saying to wait for now because it is too soon to tell if this is a good thing or not. Has anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

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[HabBear]

It depends on how much this money (for investment in Bitcoin) represents of your total wealth and total investable assets.

I believe in Bitcoin thoroughly, long term. However it would be too risky to invest all of your wealth in Bitcoin. The % you determine to be correct will be different for you than it will be for others. But if you're really new to this, start with 10% of your wealth as an investment in Bitcoin. Increase that percentage as you feel comfortable to do so.

As for the IRA option, it depends on what kind of IRA, which determines the tax treatment of the account (and the investments). I'm happy to discuss those options if you give me more detail.

Good luck to you.

[NanoPixel]

It depends on how much this money (for investment in Bitcoin) represents of your total wealth and total investable assets.

I believe in Bitcoin thoroughly, long term. However it would be too risky to invest all of your wealth in Bitcoin. The % you determine to be correct will be different for you than it will be for others. But if you're really new to this, start with 10% of your wealth as an investment in Bitcoin. Increase that percentage as you feel comfortable to do so.

As for the IRA option, it depends on what kind of IRA, which determines the tax treatment of the account (and the investments). I'm happy to discuss those options if you give me more detail.

Good luck to you.

HabBear, Thanks for your reply. I am thinking about just taking $10k from my 401k. They say you can roll over your balance and spread out the investment among a few of the most popular coins (i.e. BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, BCH, ETC). I am thinking of just spreading it among the top 3 (50% BTC, 25%ETH, and 25%LTC). The one thing I am worried about is how long you have to leave it in there. Are the rules the same as traditional IRA's? Are there penalties for withdrawing early? 

Thanks in advance!

[figmentofmyass]

I am new here and have been doing research for the past few weeks on crypto currencies, mining and blockchain development. I ran across a few adds claiming to provide you with a self directed Bit Coin IRA. At first glance I thought this was a good idea and planned on transferring a certain amount of money from my 401k. I tried to find reviews on this and it seems people are saying to wait for now because it is too soon to tell if this is a good thing or not. Has anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

i've come across a couple people who have used bitcoinira.com to convert some of their retirement funds into BTC/ETH funds. i haven't looked into the details myself, but they both said to consider other options because the fees were quite high.

one of the problems with cryptocurrency retirement accounts that are administered by a fund is that they charge management/administration fees which are often quite high. this is one of the biggest complaints about GBTC, which trades at a significant premium to bitcoin because people don't need to worry about securing the coins themselves and because it is accessible via interfaces like E-trade (mainstream/average investors).

i've been told that there are ways to structure bitcoin holds yourself into retirement accounts. that way you'll save significant fees on administration. i don't know the details, though. but i think you should consider talking to one or more tax attorneys about it. you might save yourself a bundle by having a lawyer/CPA structure it for you so you can handle the security/administration yourself.

[NanoPixel]

I am new here and have been doing research for the past few weeks on crypto currencies, mining and blockchain development. I ran across a few adds claiming to provide you with a self directed Bit Coin IRA. At first glance I thought this was a good idea and planned on transferring a certain amount of money from my 401k. I tried to find reviews on this and it seems people are saying to wait for now because it is too soon to tell if this is a good thing or not. Has anyone done this? Thanks in advance.

i've come across a couple people who have used bitcoinira.com to convert some of their retirement funds into BTC/ETH funds. i haven't looked into the details myself, but they both said to consider other options because the fees were quite high.

one of the problems with cryptocurrency retirement accounts that are administered by a fund is that they charge management/administration fees which are often quite high. this is one of the biggest complaints about GBTC, which trades at a significant premium to bitcoin because people don't need to worry about securing the coins themselves and because it is accessible via interfaces like E-trade (mainstream/average investors).

i've been told that there are ways to structure bitcoin holds yourself into retirement accounts. that way you'll save significant fees on administration. i don't know the details, though. but i think you should consider talking to one or more tax attorneys about it. you might save yourself a bundle by having a lawyer/CPA structure it for you so you can handle the security/administration yourself.

Thanks Fig, that sounds like a good idea. I thought that putting it into a BitCoin IRA it would accrue some kind of interest that I wouldn't get doing this on my own. If that's the case I'm not sure why anyone would trust a company to do this if the returns are the same and you have to pay them heavy interest fee's. There must be something else to it.

[HabBear]

Good luck to you.

HabBear, Thanks for your reply. I am thinking about just taking $10k from my 401k. They say you can roll over your balance and spread out the investment among a few of the most popular coins (i.e. BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, BCH, ETC). I am thinking of just spreading it among the top 3 (50% BTC, 25%ETH, and 25%LTC). The one thing I am worried about is how long you have to leave it in there. Are the rules the same as traditional IRA's? Are there penalties for withdrawing early? 

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like a good plan. Is that $10k at 10% or less than your total 401k balance? Just curious.

Your plan to spread the investment across BTC, ETH, and LTC is wise.

The rules are the same for all IRAs, Traditional or Roth. You're not supposed to withdraw any money until you're 59 1/2 years old. If you do, you'll pay a 10% penalty on the amount you withdraw and you'll have to pay taxes, either:

• Income taxes on all that you withdraw if it's a Traditional IRA, or
• Capital Gains taxes on all the gains related to the balance (coins) you withdraw if it's a Roth IRA

Since you're depositing this money from a 401k, you must be opening a Traditional IRA...which means you've never paid taxes on this money.

For Crypto currencies, time is on our side. The fact that you have to leave this money in the account until retirement isn't a terrible thing.

[ikilledcobain]

Yeah, I looked into that as well - I think BitcoinIRA was the one I was looking at. The thing that kept me from pulling the trigger was mentioned by a previous poster. At least for that one, there's a 15% up front fee as well as yearly maintenance fees (having trouble finding specifics on those).

Instead, I'm taking retirement money and just buying btc directly along with other alts. We'll see if it pays off, but I didn't have a ton in my 401k to invest anyways.

[NanoPixel]

Yeah, I looked into that as well - I think BitcoinIRA was the one I was looking at. The thing that kept me from pulling the trigger was mentioned by a previous poster. At least for that one, there's a 15% up front fee as well as yearly maintenance fees (having trouble finding specifics on those).

Instead, I'm taking retirement money and just buying btc directly along with other alts. We'll see if it pays off, but I didn't have a ton in my 401k to invest anyways.

That's what I am facing. There is just not enough info for me to do it as well. It sounds good but just to early to tell. I also don't see much incentive to do it with the fee's and all. 

[kmarume]

How much of their investment fund are people thinking about investing as bitcoin?

[1kings]

I'd suggest you can a BTC wallet where you can drop a few btc and lock it up as your IRA. Find a devoted place offline to keep the password, private key and all.

You'd get all the forks and the appreciation without worries. BTC keeps appreciating. Much better than any portfolio out there.