Unchained Capital IRA review: bitcoin you hold the keys to

By law, every IRA must have a custodian, meaning the firm that legally keeps the account's assets and handles its paperwork. For Unchained, Fortis Bank handles custody of the IRA.

Your coins live in a setup Unchained names a multisig vault, one that needs multiple keys to open, and you hold keys to it. Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs are all available.

The account supports bitcoin only. Want other cryptocurrencies in the same place? You'll need a different provider.

Buying and selling each carry a 1.5% charge, and there's an account fee of $250 a year on top. At least $2,000 is needed to open or fund the account.

That annual charge never changes no matter how big your balance gets. With a smaller account, though, the flat $250 takes a bigger bite out of your money than it does with a larger one.

Yes. Unchained says moving money from an employer plan usually takes about two weeks, and each cash transfer or rollover needs to be at least $2,000.

Funds sitting in a former employer's plan can move whenever you like. Still working there? The money can shift during your employment only if the plan permits it.

With a direct rollover, the old plan sends your money right to the new IRA custodian. Per IRS rules, no tax gets withheld this way. If you move $20,000 of pre-tax 401(k) money directly to a traditional IRA, nothing is withheld and there is no tax or 10% early-withdrawal charge now. Moving that pre-tax money to a Roth IRA instead creates a tax bill this year.

Get paid the money yourself instead, and the plan keeps 20% back for federal tax, so $4,000 out of a $20,000 cash-out. From there you have 60 days to deposit the complete amount into an IRA, including what was withheld.

Miss that window and the money counts as a withdrawal, with income tax and, under age 59½, the 10% charge on top. Take a 45-year-old pulling out $20,000 in the 22% bracket plus 5% state tax: they end up with $12,600. If a check is already heading your way, pick up the phone before those 60 days pass.

The table shows what moving $50,000 in costs at each provider, applying identical fee rules across the board.

Move up to $250,000 and things look different. Unchained holds at $250 a year, but Swan climbs to $600 and BitcoinIRA reaches $2,400.

Cheapest? No, Unchained isn't. What you're paying for is personal control of the vault keys.

With a Traditional IRA, pre-tax 401(k) money can transfer without any tax today. Choose a Roth for the move and you'll owe tax in the current year. At a 22% rate, shifting $30,000 means roughly $6,600 in federal tax.

There's also a cap on fresh contributions you make yourself. The IRS cap for new IRA contributions in 2026 is $7,500.

The right account type comes down to your tax rate today versus later, and that's a conversation worth having before any money moves.

Someone who specializes in retirement accounts picks up the phone and walks through crypto inside a 401(k), rollovers into crypto IRAs, plus solo 401(k) options. Together you can look at where your money currently sits, how a rollover to Unchained would play out, and what the cost would be at your balance.

You'll come away informed about your own choices, and the next step is yours to make. This site receives no payment from any custodian or 401(k) provider. Call now, or leave your name, number and where your 401(k) money sits on the consultation form and the specialist will get back to you.