Choosing an IRA wrapper is only half the battle; the custodian executing that wrapper is equally critical, especially for digital assets. The best wrapper means little if your custodian can’t securely store, audit, or report your crypto holdings.
For crypto IRAs, custodial requirements are more demanding than for stocks or bonds. Custodians must manage cold storage, key control, encryption, multisig wallets, and resiliency against hacks. They must produce audit trails, support valuation, and often interface with blockchain explorers or verification tools.
Because of these complexities, not every custodian supports every IRA wrapper for digital assets. The guide “Choosing the Right IRA Wrapper for Digital Assets” addresses how custodians vary by wrapper, what technical capabilities to demand, and how to align custodian features with your wrapper choice.
Here are critical criteria:
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Segregated custody and proof of reserves
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Fee transparency (custody, withdrawal, audit, blockchain)
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Audit support / independent attestations
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Disaster recovery and insurance policies
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Flexibility for crypto operations (staking, transfers)
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Compliance with prohibited transaction rules
A Roth wrapper’s appeal erodes if custodial fees are opaque or excessive. Meanwhile, custodians supporting Traditional or SEP wrappers may have different operational obligations (e.g. reporting). The tradeoffs between wrapper and custodian compatibility are well explored in “Choosing the Right IRA Wrapper for Digital Assets”.
Before you commit to any crypto IRA, demand detailed service contracts and custodial audit statements. The integration between your wrapper and custodian is where value and risk reside.