Swan IRA review: a bitcoin-only IRA, fees and custody

Swan's IRA page spells out what's included:

• Just bitcoin: no other coins are available
• Both traditional and Roth IRA options
• Rollovers from a previous employer's 401(k) or 403(b) are accepted
• You can open and fund the account with any amount, however small

Want anything besides bitcoin? Swan won't have it.

Every buy costs 1%, and every sale costs 1%. On top of that, the account fee runs 0.02% of your balance per month, and it never goes under $20 a month, per Swan's fee details. Below is what it costs to move money in and simply hold it, assuming you never trade again after buying.

Because of that $20 floor, even modest balances pay $240 annually. When you eventually sell, that's another 1% of the sale amount. According to Swan, you won't run into hidden fees, minimum balances, or unexpected charges.

Equity Trust is Swan's partner and serves as the custodian. That means Equity Trust is the firm legally holding the IRA's assets and maintaining its records. Swan offers the bitcoin IRA, and Equity Trust holds the account.

Funds sitting in a former employer's 401(k) can roll over whenever you like. Funds in the plan at your current job can move only via an in-service rollover, and only when the plan permits one.

With a direct rollover, the old plan pays the new IRA custodian directly, so nothing is withheld and no tax comes due. Roll $20,000 over directly, and the entire $20,000 stays at work, untaxed, with no 10% charge today.

With an indirect rollover, the check goes to you. The plan withholds 20% for federal tax, so on a $20,000 payout, $4,000 is withheld rather than sent to you. From there, you get 60 days to deposit the complete amount into an IRA, including the withheld 20%.

Miss that window while under 59½, and the payout is treated as an early withdrawal. Say you're 45 years old, paying 22% federal and 5% state, and you cash out $20,000: you'd end up with only about $12,600. One quick call before requesting that check can guide you through the direct option.

Shifting pre-tax 401(k) dollars into a traditional IRA triggers no tax today. Shifting them into a Roth IRA does. Convert $30,000 of pre-tax money at a 22% rate, and this year's federal tax bill grows by about $6,600.

Which one wins comes down to your rate now versus your rate later. Take $30,000, assume 22% today and 12% in retirement: the traditional account nets $26,400 after tax, while the Roth nets $23,400. Traditional finishes $3,000 in front.

If you're adding fresh contributions instead of rolling money over, the IRS has set the 2026 IRA limit at $7,500.

Take a $50,000 balance, one purchase and no further trades. Here is what each provider charges:

On the buy-in, Swan ties the cheapest options here. Its ongoing annual charge, though, sits above a number of rivals at this balance. No custodian or 401(k) provider pays this site.

Call us and a retirement specialist will talk through crypto inside a 401(k), rollovers into a crypto IRA such as Swan, and solo 401(k) plans. You'll get information about your own choices on the call, and the next step is yours to make. Call before you ask your old plan for anything, or leave your details on the consultation form.