Alto IRA vs iTrustCapital

Alto IRA and iTrustCapital are two leading IRA providers that let you invest in unique assets like crypto and fine art. But which is right for you?

Alto IRA and iTrustCapital are two of the most popular crypto-friendly IRA custodians out there.

But they're not exactly the same. So, which is better?

In this guide, see how Alto IRA and iTrustCapital compare in accounts, fees, security, and more.

What are Alto IRA and iTrustCapital?

Alto IRA and iTrustCapital are both IRA custodians that allow you to invest in a wide range of assets, including crypto. See how they compare below.

Alto IRA
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Alto IRA is an IRA custodian that allows you to invest in unique assets and unregistered securities, which many custodians don't support.

Alto IRA has two main products:

• The Alto IRA, where you'll find a wide range of assets like real estate and fine art
  
• The Alto CryptoIRA, for those looking to invest in crypto

The Alto CryptoIRA is far most similar to what iTrustCapital offers.

iTrustCapital
iTrustCapital is an IRA custodian that allows investors to keep cryptocurrency in their retirement accounts. It was founded in 2018 by CEO Morgan Steckler, and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

iTrustCapital lets users trade crypto and precious metals real-time while benefitting from the special allowances given to retirement accounts.

They are IRS and SEC-compliant, and have positive user reviews on Trustpilot, the Business Consumer Alliance, and Facebook.

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	AltoBitcoin IRABitIRA
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Alto	iTrustCapital
	SPECIAL OFFER Alto CryptoIRA® - Learn More	SPECIAL OFFER Open a Crypto IRA and Get $100 Bitcoin Reward - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Minimum Deposit	$10	$1,000
Monthly Fee	$0	$0
Cryptocurrencies Supported	200+	Basic Attention, Enjin, Cosmos, Tezos, Curve DAO, Aave, yearn.finance, Sushi, Compound, Uniswap, Stellar, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Polkadot, Chainlink, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Avalanche, Maker, Shiba Inu, Axie Infinity
Countries Supported	U.S. (with exception of Hawaii)	U.S.
Fiat Currencies Supported	USD	USD
Digital Wallet	Yes	Yes
Transaction Fee	1%	Cryptocurrency: 1% per trade Gold: $50 over spot (market price) Silver: $2.50 over spot
Setup Fee	$0	$0
Wire Transfer Fee	$25 outgoing	No
Cold Storage	Yes	Yes
Two-Factor Authentication	Yes	Yes
Withdrawal Limit	None. 10% penalty under 59 1/2 years old	None. 10% penalty under 59 1/2 years old
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Alto CryptoIRA® Alto IRA	Open a Crypto IRA and Get $100 Bitcoin Reward View Asset Selection iTrustCapital Knowledge Center
Alto: Pricing information from published website as of 02/08/2022. iTrustCapital: Pricing information from published website as of 02/08/2022.

Alto IRA vs iTrustCapital: How to Invest

Alto IRA and iTrustCapital differ mainly in which assets they support and the account types they offer. Take a look at how investing works with both custodians to find the right fit for your investing needs.

How to Invest with Alto IRA

The Alto IRA lets users invest in both traditional and unique assets. You can diversify your portfolio in ways that won't be possible at many other custodians. Some of the assets you can invest in include:

• Real estate
  
• Land
  
• Fine art
  
• Venture capital
  
• Startups
  
• Private companies and more

With an Alto IRA account, you'll get access to their list of 15 partners, each specializing in their own unique branch of the investing world.

You can find the full list here, along with a brief explanation of what they do, their asset specialties, what the Alto IRA investment fee associated with them is, and their minimum investment requirements.

Some notable examples of their investment partners include:

• FarmTogether: Invest in farmland and agriculture
  
• Republic: Specializes in startups
  
• Masterworks: Invest in fine art
  
• Grayscale: A crypto fund that offers exposure to the cryptocurrency market without direct investment in cryptocurrency itself

Investment minimums vary by partner and range from $100 to $250,000 or more. If they don't currently offer the investment you're looking for, you may be able to sponsor your own deal if you sign up for their Pro account.

How to Invest with Alto CryptoIRA

The Alto CryptoIRA connects directly to Coinbase, a popular crypto trading platform. This allows users to invest in crypto with their retirement savings with ease.

There's a growing list of over 200 cryptocurrencies to invest in, including the ones you've likely heard of, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and plenty more.

Trading is available at all hours, and Alto offers a concierge service to help you figure it out if you haven't traded crypto before.

You can find a full and up-to-date list of their extensive range of cryptocurrencies here.

How to Invest with iTrustCapital

iTrustCapital offers a somewhat more limited range of the more popular cryptocurrencies:

• Aave, Algorand, Avalanche, Axie Infinity, Basic Attention Token, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, ChainLink, Cardano, Compound, Cosmos, Curve DAO, Decentraland, Dogecoin, Enjin Coin, EOS, Ethereum, Litecoin, Maker, Polkadot, Polygon, Ripple, Sandbox, Shiba Inu, Solana, Stellar, Sushi, Tezos, The Graph, Uniswap, XRP, Yearn Finance

Users can also invest in gold and silver.

• Minimum Investment: $1,000 minimum to begin, with an additional $500 in a subsequent deposit^[1]
  
• Trade Minimum: $30^[2]

Alto IRA vs iTrustCapital: Fees

When planning for your retirement, costs matter. Let's take a close look at the fees charged by Alto IRA and iTrustCapital to see how they compare.

Alto IRA Fees^[3]

• Account fee: $25 per month for Pro; $10 per month for the Starter plan
  
• $0 Custody Fees
  
• Partner Investment Fee: $10
  
• Private Investment Fee: Pro plan only, $75
  
• Account Closure Fee: $50
  
• Outbound Wire Transfer Fee: $25

The account fees cover account setup costs, account funding, e-statements, Roth conversion, tax reporting, and customer support. You can also set it up to pay yearly instead of monthly.

Alto CryptoIRA Fees^[3]

• $0 Account fees
  
• $0 Custody Fees
  
• Trading Fee: 1% per transaction
  
• Account Closure Fee: $50
  
• Outbound Wire Transfer Fee: $25

Alto IRA has no account minimums, though some of their investment partners do have minimum investment requirements.

iTrustCapital Fees^[4]

• $0 monthly fee
  
• 1% per transaction on crypto trades
  
• $50 over spot (market price) on gold
  
• $2.50 over spot on silver
  
• $1,000 account minimum

Alto IRA vs iTrustCapital: Security

Security is another major concern when trusting a custodian with your savings. Let's take a look at the security measures employed by Alto IRA and iTrustCapital to keep your money safe.

Alto IRA^[5]

• Undirected cash is stored in FDIC-insured accounts
  
• Digital assets are stored with Coinbase in a combination of hot and cold storage
  
• Digital assets with Coinbase are protected by a commercial crime policy up to $320 million
  
• Digital assets with Coinbase are protected by a cybercrime policy up to $3 million
  
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) powered by Authy or Google Authenticator

iTrustCapital^[6]

• Digital assets are secured by Coinbase Custody
  
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) powered by Authy
  
• Gold and Silver are held at the Royal Canadian Mint and traded on VaultChain, a secure blockchain distributed ledger
  
• Insurance:
  
  • $50 million insurance policy from Munich Re
    
  • Total insurance up to $370 million including policy with Coinbase Custody and Curv

As you can see, both platforms take reasonable and comparable precautions to protect your assets.

Bottom Line

Both the Alto CryptoIRA and iTrustCapital are solid options for retirement investing in unique assets. With similar fees, similar security, and similar features, there is not a whole lot that differentiates these two accounts.

The only reason a user might choose the Alto CryptoIRA over iTrustCapital is that it has a wider range of altcoins available. Meanwhile, those interested in trading precious metals in addition to crypto would be better off with iTrustCapital.

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The Alto IRA is very different from the other two, focusing on a range of alternative assets not often found in IRAs, such as real estate, venture capital, private companies, and more. It's not ideal, however, for those with a special interest in cryptocurrency.

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