iTrustCapital surpasses $5B in crypto IRA transactions

Cryptocurrency individual retirement accounts (IRA) provider iTrustCapital revealed Wednesday that the total transaction volume on its platform had surpassed $5 billion, marking a 60% increase in nine months.

As told by iTrustCapital, many of its users, ranging from millennials to working professionals to senior citizens, are trading cryptocurrencies for the first time. The firm only charges a 1% buy-sell fee on cryptocurrency transactions. There are no monthly fees, and investors only need to deposit $1,000 to open an account. Through the platform, users can trade over 25 cryptocurrencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also provides insurance coverage for deposits in the amount of $320 million, as per an agreement with Coinbase Custody. 

In the United States, IRAs enable individuals to save for retirement through tax-free capital accumulation or on a tax-deferred basis. Those with IRAs do not need to pay taxes on asset capital gains held within these accounts but may need to pay taxes on withdrawals when they reach retirement age, depending on account type. Early withdrawals are permitted with a 10% penalty, though this may be waived in certain circumstances, such as when using funds to pay for college. Since iTrustCapital's inception four years prior, the firm has attracted more than 35,000 clients with its crypto IRAs.

Related: Crypto IRA iTrustCapital raises $125M, pushes valuation over $1B

Cointelegraph previously reported that more than one-quarter of the surveyed U.S. millennials plan to use cryptocurrencies to fund their retirement. Some investors have observed that one doesn't have to pay the same amount of taxes when buying and selling crypto in retirement accounts compared with traditional trading accounts. This perceived advantage could attract more crypto investors to retirement plans such as IRAs.