This guide conducts a complete Alto crypto IRA review in March 2023. We will start by explaining Alto crypto IRA and then conduct a 360-degree review to understand its worthiness, authenticity, and other essential aspects.
In case you already understand Alto crypto IRA, and Self Directed IRAs, then you can skip the following sections and directly jump to the Alto crypto IRA review.
Table of Contents
What is Alto Crypto IRA
Alto crypto IRA is a self-directed IRA (SDIRA), which allows you to invest your IRA retirement savings into high-growth yet high-risk cryptocurrencies.
You can buy cryptocurrencies from exchanges and add them to your investment portfolio. But when it comes to investing your retirement (IRA) funds in cryptocurrencies, with tax advantage, Alto crypto IRA comes in handy. It provides one of the most simple yet effective ways to add cryptocurrencies to your retirement portfolio.
It offers the same tax advantages as any other IRA. The amount of investment you put in the Alto crypto IRA is deducted from your annual taxable income (with some limitations to the amount of investment you can make in a year).
Read 6 best crypto IRAs in 2023
What is a Self Directed IRA
A self-directed IRA (SDIRA) is a form of traditional IRA. It offers the same tax advantages and the same contribution limits as the traditional IRA.
However, the SDIRA allows you to invest in a broader yet potentially riskier and potentially more rewarding portfolio of financial products, which are not included in the traditional IRA. These potentially riskier and more rewarding financial products include real estate, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and other forms of alternative investments.
Alto crypto IRA review
Gauging the goodness of any crypto IRA depends on a few primary factors:
- The number of cryptocurrencies the crypto IRA allows investments to
- Additional assets (besides crypto) available in the IRA for investment
- Minimum Account Balance you need to maintain
- Transaction Fee for trading crypto
- Quality of Customer Services
- Ease of setting up the account and the most important
- Security of funds in the IRA
A complete review of BitcoinIRA on different parameters is given below.
Alto crypto IRA review-Pros and Cons
Alto crypto IRA.
Good for investors who want to diversify their IRA investments with cryptocurrencies (with tax advantage) at a very low fee.
Ease of use
Alto crypto IRA offers an easy and intuitive navigation and usage through its portal. It also offers a free concierge service to help walk you through setting up and funding your account.
Alto crypto IRA is partner with Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange. This enables you to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies without any hassle.
You do not need to open an LLC or go through other legal and regulatory steps (as you do with some other crypto IRAs) for investing in cryptocurrencies, simply transfer funds to your IRA fund and start investing.
Hence, Alto crypto IRA provides you a simple 24/7 mode of trading in cryptocurrencies using your IRA funds.
Alto crypto coins- cryptocurrencies offered by Alto
Alto crypto IRA allows you to invest in 200 plus crypto coins through its integration with Coinbase.
Some of the popular crypto coins offered by Alto crypto IRA are:
- ADA
- Bitcoin
- Dogecoin
- Ethereum
- Matic
- Mana
- Shiba Inu and more………
Please visit here to check all the cryptocurrencies supported by Alto crypto IRA. In addition to cryptocurrencies, Alto crypto IRA also lets you invest in precious metals like Gold.
Tax advantage
Cryptocurrency investments are taxable. Cryptocurrencies are treated as an asset or property and a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is levied on it.
8 best crypto tax software in the USA
But when you buy and sell cryptocurrencies using a crypto IRA platform like Alto crypto IRA, Bitcoin IRA or iTrustCapital you get the same tax advantage as you enjoy in your traditional IRA accounts.
This means that the amount of cryptocurrency investments you make in the year using the Alto crypto IRA platform will be deducted from your taxable income.
Say your taxable income is $10,000 for the year and you made an investment of $2000 in the Alto crypto IRA buying cryptocurrencies. Then $2000 is deducted from your taxable income of $10,000 to calculate your net taxable income, i.e. $8000.
However, please note there is a defined limit on the amount of money you can claim for tax savings in a year in your IRA account.
Alto IRA Fees and the minimum amount needed to open an account
Alto crypto IRA offers remarkably lower fees as compared to its peers in the market. Currently, it does not charge any account setup and account maintenance fees. Only a trading fee of 1% is charged for each trade that you make.
Alto crypto IRA has no monthly fee. There is a trading fee of 1%. Check the table below for all the associated fees in Alto-crypto IRA.
| Parameter | Fee/Charges |
| Account Fee | Zero |
| Custody Fee | Zero |
| Direct Investment Fee/ Trading Fee | 1% |
| Outbound Wire Transfers | $25 |
| Account Closure Fee | $50 |
| Inbound Funding/Rollover Fee | Zero |
| Hidden Charges | Zero |
Alto crypto IRA needs an initial minimum investment of $10 to start your account.
Rollover from traditional IRA accounts
Alto IRA supports traditional IRA accounts like Roth IRA, SEP IRA.
Does Alto IRA have an app?
I cannot find any applications for the standard Alto IRA, however Alto crypto IRA has a mobile application for the android and apple devices. This is in the beta phase.
Alto IRA customer services
- Phone number: 877 673 1557
- Submit requests and queries: Query can be submitted here.
- Alto crypto IRA Support Center: FAQs around investor support, issuer support, investing guides, resources, general queries can be found here.
Is Alto IRA insured?
As we know, Alto crypto IRA is a partner with Coinbase for enabling cryptocurrency investments into over 200 cryptocurrencies.
- Coinbase keeps all your cryptocurrencies. A large percentage of your cryptocurrencies is kept in cold storage, free from any risks of cyber attacks.
- Coinbase also offers an insurance of $320 million.
- The cash in Alto IRA is FDIC insured up to $ 250,000.
- Alto IRA also offers errors and ommissions and cyber liability insurance
- Alto IRA enable two-factor authentication process.
How does Alto IRA work?
How does Alto IRA work or how does Alto crypto IRA work?
Step 1-Sign in
Visit the Alto IRA sign up page here. Enter your name, email, and phone number to sign up.
Step 2: Choose the mode of transferring your funds to your Alto IRA account
Once you enter your name, email, and phone, the portal will ask you the mode of funding your Alto IRA account.
You can choose to transfer funds from your existing 401 (K) account, an existing IRA account, or any other retirement account or from your bank account.
You may choose the ‘unsure’ option in case you are not sure at the time. Or you can choose to speak to a professional.
Step 3: Create your account
The next step is to create your account. Click on “Create Account” as shown in the figure.
Provide your email and password to open your account. Read and accept the “Terms of Service”.
Step 4: Complete your verification
Alto IRA will send an email verification link to your email id.
Simply go to your email and click on the verification link. In a few seconds/minutes, your email address will be verified.
Step 5: Confirm your identity
Once your email is verified, Alto IRA will begin your personal verification. Alto crypto IRA needs to verify your identity to remain compliant with Federal regulations.
The verification will require you to provide your personal details like your birthday, and Social Security No. and more.
Once the verification is completed, then only you can start investing in any of the financial products offered. The verification in most cases is instantaneous which takes only a few minutes.
In some cases, the team of Alto IRA can contact you separately to ask some additional KYC questions.
Step 6: Start investing
Once the verification is done, now it’s time to select one of the sub-accounts-Alto IRA or Alto crypto IRA , fund your Alto IRA account and start investing.
Note: Alto IRA requires at least 7 days for you to start your investments after you have completed your verification/KYC. In these 7 days, however you can fund your account.
Alto crypto IRA review-FAQs
Is Alto IRA trustworthy? Is Alto IRA safe?
Alto IRA has managed to gain the trust and support of customers, which is evident by the reviews it has received on platforms like TrustPilot.
Besides, it has witnessed increased adoption owing to its low fees, easy navigation, and diverse investment options.
It provides you the option to choose from over 200 cryptocurrencies, startups, farmlands, art, precious metals, and more.
Alto IRA has partners to facilitate these alternative investments. Some of the notable partners are AcreTrader (Real Estate Investing), AngelList (startups), CapitalEngine (capital markets), FarmTogether (farmlands), and more.
It has received an excellent 4.5/5 rating in Trustpilot, with over 1077 total reviews received at the time of writing this guide. Please check the ratings here.
Alto IRA has publicly shared addresses, contact, and email at Trustpilot, which further adds to the legitimacy of the company.
Please note that Alto IRA was once hacked in 2021. Although few user credentials were compromised, there was no loss in funds.
Should you invest in Alto IRA?
You can invest in Alto IRA if you wish to diversify your retirement funds in IRA to high return though high risk financial instruments like real estate, stocks, startups, sports, farmland, crowdfunds, private equity, cryptocurrencies and gold. Alto IRA provides high security and insurance to your cryptocurrencies.
There is a catch however. Alto IRA lets you invest in these financial instruments via their network of partners. However, each of these partners have different minimum investments required.
What does Alto crypto IRA mean?
Alto IRA is a self-directed IRA account which allows you to diversify your IRA funds by investing in cryptocurrencies and precious metals like Gold. Read here in detail.
Can I put my IRA into Bitcoin?
Yes. You can use any self-directed IRA to invest in Bitcoin and even other cryptocurrencies like Ether, XRP, LTC, etc. Some of the top self directed IRA accounts are Bitcoin IRA, Alto crypto IRA and iTrustCapital IRA.
Read about best crypto IRA here.
Is Alto IRA real or legitimate?
Alto IRA is a platform that facilitates investing your IRA (retirement) funds in alternative financial assets like cryptocurrencies, farmland, startups, real estate, private equity, art, and more.
Alto IRA has managed to gain the trust and support of customers, which is evident by the reviews it has received on platforms like TrustPilot.
Besides, it has witnessed increased adoption owing to its low fees, easy navigation, and diverse investment options. It provides you the option to choose from over 200 cryptocurrencies to invest your IRA funds in.
It has received an excellent 4.4/5 rating in Trustpilot, with over 991 total reviews received at the time of writing this guide. Please check the ratings here.
Alto IRA has a publicly shared address, contact, and email at Trustpilot, which further adds to the legitimacy of the company.
Please note that Alto IRA was hacked in 2021. Though only few credentials were compromised, there was no loss of funds.
Is crypto IRA a good idea?
It depends on your risk appetite and patience level while investing. Cryptocurrencies are volatile owing to the lesser adoption they have seen as compared to other mainstream financial products like stocks, bonds, and real estate.
However, due to the same volatility, crypto-IRA can potentially offer you much more gains than mainstream and traditional financial products.
If you ask me, a small percentage of your retirement portfolio (like 5-10%) can be invested in cryptocurrencies, which can offer huge growth over a period of time, as cryptocurrency adoption goes more mainstream.
Where is Alto IRA located? Alto crypto IRA contact
Address: Ventura Boulevard 15303
91403
Los Angeles
United States
Phone: 877-936-7175
Is Alto IRA FDIC insured?
All cash held by Alto IRA is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as is claimed at Alto IRA website.
Can you stake on Alto IRA?
Alto IRA is getting started with staking Solana with its integration with Coinbase. You can join their waitlist for staking by filling in a form here.
A six-month pilot for staking Solana is planned. Investors who wish to stake must:
a) Have an Alto CryptoIRA (traditional, Roth, or SEP)
b) Hold (and be willing to stake) at least 25 SOL
Which IRA is best for crypto?
There are a few popular and reliable IRAs for investing in crypto, like Bitcoin IRA, iTrustCapital, Alto IRA, CoinIRA, BitIRA, BlockcMint, and Rocket Dollar IRA.
However, the best IRA would be dependent on your requirements. Here is a snapshot of the different crypto IRAs and their suitability:
BitcoinIRA: If you want to go with the trusted, tried and tested crypto IRA platform, BitcoinIRA is your choice. It is one of the oldest and trusted crypto IRA platform (which also allows easy investment in gold). Although the platform fees are comparatively high.
iTrustCapital: If you want to go with a crypto IRA which charges one of the lowest fees (among all crypto IRAs) and allows you to diversify your investment in Gold, Silver and other precious metals.
Alto crypto IRA: Good for investors who want to choose from 200 plus cryptocurrencies, to diversify their retirement funds at a very low fee.
Read here “7 best crypto IRA platforms in 2023“
What is the difference between Alto crypto IRA and Alto IRA?
Alto is a platform or a Self Directed IRA (SDIRA), which facilitates investing your retirement funds in alternative asset classes in a tax-advantaged manner.
Apart from conventional investment options like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc., the alternative asset classes covered by Alto are startups, farmlands, art, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, etc.
Standard Alto IRA allows investments into alternative asset classes like startups, farmlands, art, precious metals, and more. Alto IRA has partners to facilitate these alternative investments. Some of the notable partners are AcreTrader (Real Estate investing), AngelList (startups), CapitalEngine (capital markets), FarmTogether (farmlands) and more.
Whereas, Alto crypto IRA allows investment into cryptocurrencies (more than 200). So if you want to invest in cryptocurrencies, go for Alto crypto IRA.
You can choose between Standard Alto IRA and Alto crypto IRA when opening an account with Alto.
Is Alto IRA free?
No, Alto IRA is not free, although Alto crypto IRA offers remarkably lower fees as compared to its peers in the market.
Currently, it does not charge any account setup and account maintenance fees. Only a trading fee of 1% is charged for each trade that you make.
Please check this for more details on the fees and pricing of Alto IRA.
Who owns Alto IRA? Who invested in Alto?
Alto IRA’s current Founder, Chief Executive Officer is Eric Satz.
Founded in the year 2018, Alto has a series of investors including
Acrew Capital, Advance Venture Partners, Alpha Edison, Coinbase Ventures, Foundation Capital, Moment Ventures, Saturn Partners, and Unusual Ventures, Carta, Franklin Templeton,New York Life Ventures and, Stone Ridge Asset Management.
Please check this
Alto crypto IRA review-Conclusion
Alto crypto IRA is a self-directed IRA that facilitates the investment of your IRA funds in cryptocurrencies and precious metals like Gold. It offers low fees and a mere $10 as the account minimum for starting the account. It has gained excellent traction and stupendous feedback from users on platforms like TrustPilot.
Alto crypto IRA is working to instill some missing features that will make it more valuable to customers. For example, it is working to offer to stake your cryptocurrencies starting with Solana. It is also working enabling direct crypto transfers from your wallets to the Alto IRA account.
