Contributor, Benzinga
January 27, 2022
iTrustCapital
Overall Rating:
securely through iTrustCapital's website

iTrustCapital is a self-directed IRA provider that gives you the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies, gold and silver through your retirement account. iTrustCapital focuses on providing investors with a straightforward and easy-to-understand platform, which can be a major asset if you’ve never bought or sold alternative investments in the past. 

When you reach retirement age, iTrustCapital allows you to choose whether you’d like to take your disbursements in cash or in the assets you’ve invested in. Though the platform does offer a limited range of cryptocurrencies when compared to brokers like Coinbase, its simple structure and unique IRA offerings make iTrustCapital a great place to invest.

Best For
  • Investors who want to add gold, silver or cryptocurrencies to their IRA
  • Those who are interested in taking a long-term approach to cryptocurrency or metal investing
  • Beginner cryptocurrency investors
Pros
  • Straightforward platform allows you to buy and sell assets in a few minutes
  • Orders clear within 5 minutes
  • 24/7 order placements and portfolio monitoring services
  • Both live chat and phone customer service service available
Cons
  • Limited number of cryptocurrencies to buy and sell
  • No mobile app currently available

iTrustCapital Ratings at a Glance

Fees and Account Minimums
Ease of Use
Education
iTrust Customer Support
Offerings
Mobile App
Overall Rating

Quick Summary of iTrustCapital

Tradable assets28 cryptocurrencies, physical gold and silver 
All invested assets held in a self-directed IRA
PlatformFew analysis tools but simple and straightforward for beginning investors to master
Mobile appNo proprietary mobile app 
Mobile website mimics functionality of the desktop platform
Account minimum$1,000 minimum to begin; $500 for any additional funding
Commissions and fees1% cryptocurrency trading fee 
$50 over spot ounce for gold investments 
$2.50 over spot ounce for silver investments
Monthly fees also apply and go toward ongoing storage expenses
Available account typesSelf-directed IRAs

iTrustCapital Fees and Account Minimums

Though traditional and Roth IRAs usually come without a monthly fee, self-directed IRA providers that offer precious metal investments must charge an account maintenance fee. This fee goes towards tax reporting and ensuring that your investments are stored in a safe, IRS-approved facility.

iTrustCapital charges no maintenance fees and doesn’t require you to keep a method of payment on file.

When you deposit cryptocurrencies on iTrustCapital, you'll be charged a 1% transaction fee. This means that if you were to invest $5,000 into Bitcoin through your IRA, you’d receive $4,950 worth of crypto after your trade clears. The outstanding $50 goes back to your IRA provider.

Fees for precious metals vary depending on the current spot. The term “spot” refers to the current price of the metal. These prices are constantly changing, which means that the amount of gold or silver that you’ll be able to invest in using your IRA contributions will vary as market demand shifts. 

iTrustCapital charges a fee of $50 over the current spot for each ounce of gold you add to your IRA and $2.50 over the current spot for each ounce of silver added to your IRA. Like your cryptocurrency investments, this fee is deducted from the total amount of gold or silver that you purchase each time you make a trade on iTrustCapital’s platform.  

All-in-all, the minimum amount you can fund your iTrustCapital account with is $3,500. Standard IRA investing rules apply in regard to contribution limits and distributions. When you reach retirement age, you can choose to make withdrawals in your investment choice instead of selling your investment and claiming its value in cash.

iTrustCapital Ease of Use

iTrustCapital allows you to invest in cryptocurrencies and precious metals by providing you with a self-directed IRA. A self-directed IRA comes with the same tax advantages and limitations as other types of IRAs, but provides you with more flexibility in terms of the investments that you include in your portfolio. This makes it much easier to make your own trades, especially in the crypto world.

Some of our favorite features that make iTrustCapital especially easy-to-use include:  

  • Step-by-step guided setup. If you’ve never opened an IRA before, you might be concerned about beginning with a self-directed account. iTrustCapital provides you with a simple guided signup process that even complete beginners won’t have trouble with. Questions are phrased with new investors in mind and include information on the differences between the many types of IRAs. 
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With an account setup suited for beginners, iTrustCapital makes it easy to start investing in cryptocurrencies and precious metals. 

  • Easy-to-master trading. Though you won’t find any complicated analysis tools or charts through iTrustCapital, the broker offers an intuitive platform that anyone can utilize effectively. View pricing information on each asset, place orders using buttons clearly labeled “buy” and “sell” and track how your investments are changing over time with a single, easily-navigable layout. 
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Track your holdings, monitor your progress, place new orders and more directly through iTrustCapital’s straightforward platform. 

  • 24/7 trading platform. Place cryptocurrency or precious metal orders through iTrustCapital’s platform at any hour of the day or night with around-the-clock service and orders. 

Overall, we gave iTrustCapital top marks for its simple, beginner-oriented platform. 

iTrustCapital Education

iTrustCapital provides users with a few tools they can use to learn more about the cryptocurrency and precious metal markets before investing. This can be extremely useful for anyone who is knew to cryptocurrency or precious metal trading.

Here are some helpful educational tools iTrustCapital offers its investors:

  • Account opening guidance. You’ll have no trouble opening your IRA account through iTrustCapital — even if this is your 1st time opening any type of retirement account. Instructions are laid out using an intuitive step-by-step system, and you can hover your cursor over select elements to see more information.
  • Knowledge center. iTrustCapital’s knowledge center is the company’s blog, which contains a large number of articles that you can browse to learn more about assets offered by the broker. Some examples of previous topics include “5 Reasons to Start a Crypto IRA,” “How is Crypto Staking Taxed?” and “Data Breaches and Crypto Wallet Security.”
  • Insider cryptocurrency reports. Want to learn more about iTrustCapital and its platform before you open your account? Simply enter your email address and iTrustCapital will send you a free beginner’s guide to investing in the cryptocurrency market. Not only can this help you get started investing in digital assets, but it'll also delineate the unique features that iTrustCapital has to offer.
  • Learn. When you want to learn, there are sections on cryptocurrencies and precious metals. The firm also lists its fees and explains how its security protocols protect your investments.

Plus, the new Learn and Support Section educates consumers on their investments, how to build a portfolio and much more. You can start with a small amount of money, get an idea for how trading will work and grow your money on your schedule.

iTrust Customer Support

iTrustCapital offers a few methods that you can use to contact its customer service team to solve any issue you may run into.

  • By phone. To contact iTrustCapital by phone, dial 866-308-7878. If you don't want to wait on the line, you can schedule a phone call from a representative from iTrustCapital.
    Visit iTrustCapital and click on the tab labeled “schedule a call.” You’ll be directed to a scheduling tool to set up your phone conversation with a representative.
    Due to the number of call volumes the company receives, phone calls are limited to 10 minutes for each client — so be sure to know what you need assistance with before you call.
  • Live chat. To get in touch via live chat features, log into your iTrustCapital account. From your home screen, click on the green button labeled “chat live.”
  • Off-platform chat. If you don’t have a current iTrustCapital account, you can access live chat features by visiting their webiste. Click on the blue tab labeled “message us.” You’ll be directed to a contact form and prompted for a bit of information on the area you need assistance in. You can even attach up to 5 screenshots or files to your message to help representatives fully understand what you need.
  • Social media. iTrustCapital keeps several social media accounts, including Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Telegram.

iTrustCapital Offerings

iTrustCapital offers you access to a unique range of assets you can invest in through your self-directed IRA. 

Current cryptocurrency offerings include:

  • Bitcoin (BTC). Among the world’s 1st cryptocurrency projects, Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency with a current total market capitalization of more than $610 billion.  
  • Litecoin (LTC). Sometimes referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” Litecoin improves on Bitcoin’s blockchain infrastructure with faster processing speeds.
  • Ethereum (ETH). The 2nd largest cryptocurrency project, the Ethereum network and its token are vital components in the expanding world of decentralized applications.
  • Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Bitcoin Cash is an offshoot of the original Bitcoin project that attempts to improve scalability issues. It is currently the 7th largest cryptocurrency, with a total market capitalization of over $7.4 billion.
  • EOS (EOS). EOS claims to be the “the most powerful infrastructure for decentralized applications.” It’s the top competitor of the Ethereum network.
  • Polkadot (DOT). Polkadot is a next generation blockchain that aims to be a hub for blockchain interoperability. Its proof of stake consensus enables high transactions per second at a far lower cost than its competitors, such as Ethereum.
  • Stellar Lumens (XLM). Stellar Lumens is an open-source and community-owned network that aims to provide users with low-cost financial services

In addition to these cryptocurrencies, iTrustCapital offers access to Aave, Algorand, Avalanche, Axie Infinity, Basic Attention, Cardano, Chainlink, Compound, Cosmos, Curve DAO, Decentraland, Dogecoin, Enjin, Maker, Shiba Inu, Solana, Sushi, Tezos, The Graph, Uniswap and Yearn.Finance. This is a great selection of cryptos. You can also invest in gold and silver through your iTrustCapital self-directed IRA. 

iTrustCapital Mobile App

iTrustCapital has a mobile app available through Apple’s App Store where you can trade in 28 different cryptocurrencies along with physical gold and silver.

The app does a good job of mimicking the experience on the website, loads quickly and allows you to switch between your desktop and mobile device at will. While reviews online are mixed, Benzinga believes this is a solid mobile app that offers the quality you would expect from financial platforms that are flush with cash.

iTrustCapital Overall Rating

If you’re searching for an IRA provider that can help you invest in cryptocurrencies and precious metals, iTrustCapital is an excellent option to look into. With lower fees and military-grade security, you can invest with confidence when you work through iTrustCapital. 

You’ll also have no problem opening your account thanks to the broker’s straightforward and intuitive process. In the future, we’d love to see iTrustCapital continue to expand its cryptocurrency offerings and offer users a proprietary mobile app

User Reviews

milo fiorda

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

It is the mile stone for investments. 90 days and it has not let me down

Gustav James

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

I paid off my loan, courtesy of Maria Renee. I am now debt free and financially secure. Guys send a message to Maria Renee for cryptocurrency trading help. I am a living example of profitable return on investment. Have a wonderful weekend. WhatsApp: +173

Jeremy

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

Bitcoin

Chris Coleman

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

Responsably

HOANG

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

didn't want to use it at all

Matt

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

I was hoping to transfer SHIB to an IRA...maybe if this product offered it, I might do it.

Jerald Clark

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

iTrust site has been nonfunctional for a couple of days and no one can tell me why. Customer service is crap. They make Coinbase look good.

Jerald Clark

How do you use this product to boost your finances?

iTrust site has been nonfunctional for a couple of days and no one can tell me why. Customer service is crap. They make Coinbase look good.

Ross

And iTrust, can PLEASE HURRY with the $LINK!?

Steve C

Awful company. Non-responsive and if you think you can use them as a trusted holder of an IRA account you would be mistaken. They cannot process even a simple withdraw of less than $2000. Despite submitting requested forms they have not sent me the funds. I was not allowed to withdraw my crypto, I had to sell it first. Short story, iTrust is not trustworthy, their lack of response seems to indicate that they are a scam, a shoestring company that you cannot depend to be honest. Do not place funds or crypto with this firm unless you\'re willing to lose it.

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About Sarah Horvath

Sarah is an expert in the insurance, investing for retirement and cryptocurrency space.