Choice IRA review: bitcoin IRA fees and custody

Choice takes a fee when you buy, another when you sell, plus a monthly account fee. That monthly charge comes to 0.0833% of what you hold, and never less than $20 a month. You don't need any minimum amount to open or fund the account.

Here's what Choice costs if you buy in once and then just hold, with no further trades:

With $10,000, the $20 monthly minimum drives the yearly figure. Once your balance grows, the percentage becomes the bigger factor and the annual fee rises along with it.

Buying gets cheaper, percentage-wise, as the trade grows. Choice's published rates:

When you sell, it costs 1.49% of the trade. So one big purchase can carry a lower percentage cost than a few smaller ones. The full rate still applies whenever you sell down the road.

Kingdom Trust holds your coins and serves as the custodian. That's the company with legal responsibility for the IRA's assets and its recordkeeping. Choice also has an option where you hold your own keys, which includes a setup fee.

Holding your own keys puts the coins in your hands, but it costs more and the keys are yours to protect. Call to talk with a retirement specialist about a rollover to a crypto IRA; you decide what to do next.

You get 23 coins to choose from, among them Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Basic Attention Token. Accounts come in Traditional IRA or Roth IRA form.

Shifting pre-tax 401(k) dollars into a Roth IRA triggers tax in the year it happens. For example, a $30,000 move taxed at 22% adds roughly $6,600 in federal tax for that year. If you'd rather put in fresh money than relocate old savings, the 2026 IRA contribution limit sits at $7,500.

A 401(k) from a former employer can roll into a crypto IRA whenever you like. One at your current job is a different story: it can move only if the plan permits a transfer while you're still employed there.

With a direct rollover, your old plan sends the money straight to the company holding your new IRA, and nothing is withheld. Moving pre-tax money into a Traditional IRA does not trigger tax now; moving it into a Roth IRA does.

When the plan sends the money to you instead, that's an indirect rollover. The plan keeps 20% for federal tax, which is $4,000 out of $20,000. From there you have 60 days to deposit the entire amount into an IRA, including the 20% the plan kept.

Miss that window and the money can count as a withdrawal. For example, a $20,000 withdrawal at age 45, with 22% federal and 5% state tax, leaves $12,600 in your pocket. If you aren't sure whether your plan is sending the money to the IRA or to you, call before signing any paperwork, since that decides whether 20% gets held back.

Here's what you'd pay for moving $50,000 and holding it. Choice costs $745 to buy in and $500 a year after that. The rest of the list, from cheapest yearly fee to priciest:

Three providers charge nothing per year: iTrustCapital ($500 to buy in), Fidelity Crypto IRA ($500), and Coin IRA ($625). IRA Financial comes in at $100 a year with a $500 buy-in, and Swan charges $240 a year, also with a $500 buy-in.

For a $50,000 balance, no one in the list charges more per year than Choice. Its purchase fee also sits above several of the others.

A retirement specialist picks up the phone and can discuss crypto in a 401(k), rollovers into a crypto IRA, plus solo 401(k) plans. This site receives no payment from any custodian or 401(k) provider. What you get from the call is a clearer picture of the choices in front of you, not investment, tax or retirement advice; the next step is yours to take.

If you've already received a rollover check, the 60-day clock is running, and missing it can turn your savings into a taxed withdrawal. Call today and a retirement specialist will talk through your old plan and your options, and you decide what happens next.