BlockMint Cryptocurrency IRA

BlockMint Review

BlockMint specializes in assisting clients with sales and purchases for cryptocurrency IRAs. They buy and sell through an open cryptocurrency exchange, much like stocks are traded on the stock market. Cryptocurrency as a retirement investment vehicle is a new way to diversify non-traditional IRAs for those who are comfortable with investing in a riskier asset at the leading edge of market adoption. Higher risk can yield an equally higher return on your investment, but your retirement portfolio should be well-balanced to offset the risk.

BlockMint is a cryptocurrency broker specializing in cryptocurrency IRA facilitation through a partnership with IRA custodian New Direction IRA. BlockMint handles investor’s buying and selling of Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum cryptocurrency. When the investor completes an order, BlockMint coordinates the funding of the transaction with New Direction IRA to execute the trade. The value of BlockMint to the investor is that it can complete buy or sell orders quickly and competently. Most individuals are not well-versed in how these transactions work, and the learning curve and the number of contacts made per transaction can be time-consuming.

Pros

• Makes trading cryptocurrency simple
• Offers Bitcoin, Etherium, and Litecoin options
• Handles all steps of purchase and storage between vendors for the client

Cons

• Locked into IRA custodian and storage option
• New high-risk asset class with market volatility

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency IRAs are an investment and carry risk. Consumers should be alert to claims that customers can make a lot of money in these or any investment with little risk. As with any investment, you can lose money and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance results. Consumers should also obtain a clear understanding of the fees associated with any investment before agreeing to invest.

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What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that relies entirely on the free market for its value. You have probably heard of Bitcoin, but Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple are among many other cryptocurrencies. Unlike traditional money, digital currency has no government backing since the users of the currency set its value through their transactions. However, the U.S. began taxing cryptocurrency gains as property in 2014.

With no physical representation, cryptocurrency is securely stored in digital wallets using strong encryption. A worldwide ledger provides checks and balances. There have been cases of hacker intrusions on various cryptocurrencies. However, using a digital wallet on a hard drive, file server or thumb drive, disconnected from the internet except when making a transaction greatly reduces the risk of losing funds to hackers.

BlockMint Pricing and Investment Amounts

Blockmint’s website show’s live pricing of the cryptocurrencies they offer. You see the Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin pricing for the current day, the month or the year. Blockmint cryptocurrency IRAs come with a minimum investment of $20,000. It offers free investing guides for groups of different investment amounts. These groups are:

• $10,000 – $25,000
• $25,001 – $50,000
• $50,001 – $100,000
• $100,000+

Screenshot: BlockMint Live Prices, Source: BlockMint

How BlockMint Processes Orders

BlockMint facilitates cryptocurrency IRAs, meaning they are not an IRA custodian or wallet, but they handle transactions between these two entities at the investor’s direction. BlockMint is a cryptocurrency broker that buys and sells cryptocurrency for the client through a cryptocurrency exchange, then makes arrangements for funding from an IRA account and the wallet storage.

BlockMint offers brokerage services for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. However, they state they have plans to offer other cryptocurrency options in the future.

	Bitcoin	Bitcoin Cash	Ethereum	Lite-coin
Availability Through BlockMint	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

	Zcash	Dash	Riipple	Monero
Availability Through BlockMint	No	No	No	No

BlockMint simplifies the retirement investing process with through a partnership with one cryptocurrency IRA custodian, New Direction. The service is especially useful for new investors who may not be well-versed in the logistics of transferring funds from an IRA custodian to a broker, and who may be unsure of how to purchase a digital wallet storage service.

BlockMint provides a toll-free number for clients to contact representatives and make transactions during regular business hours. They do not operate around the clock as the cryptocurrency exchanges do, so there will be hours during the day that investors can not react to sudden fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market. However, IRAs are intended to be a long-term investment and not quickly traded assets, so the availability of customer service agents should not be a problem for most investors. Advanced investors may choose to have a second cryptocurrency IRA elsewhere or consider other after-hours trading options for their cryptocurrency IRA investments.

BlockMint’s Limitations

While BlockMint facilitates sales and purchases, they state they are not responsible for failures of storage or digital wallet security once funds or coins reach New Direction IRA Services. While BlockMint partners with New Direction to provide better services for clients, they are not the same company. The cryptocurrency exchange, the digital wallet provider, and the New Direction IRA custodian are separate entities, and BlockMint is not responsible for their actions, failures, or policies. However, per their fees section, New Direction IRA Services does arrange the digital wallet storage as well as provide custodian services. The BlockMint transaction agreement spells out responsibilities in detail and also includes a binding arbitration agreement, as well as a class action, opt-out agreement.

BlockMint Complaints

BlockMint is a very new company, and we did not find any customer reviews. The parent company, Lear Capital, has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Why Choose A BlockMint Cryptocurrency IRA?

Cryptocurrency helps to diversify your retirement portfolio along with stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Cryptocurrency must be held in a self-directed IRA, which offers tax-deferred growth. While the value of cryptocurrency can and has fluctuated significantly since its inception, it is not affected by inflation. Read our Cryptocurrencies IRAs Guide for more information about the pros and cons of these investments.

Screenshot: BlockMint IRA Process, Source: BlockMint

BlockMint Q&A

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency is the newest form of asset on the market, only having been available since 2009 with the creation of Bitcoin. While unregulated, when the IRS declared cryptocurrency a physical asset for taxation purposes, groups began exploring cryptocurrency in IRAs. That IRS ruling, even though it added some regulation, opened up a fresh investment avenue for investors looking to diversify their portfolios. Cryptocurrency IRAs are a new form of investment, and as such, the companies facilitating these investments are also very new. The markets in cryptocurrency are readily called volatile by traders such as BlockMint and industry analysts. However, since its introduction, Bitcoin has risen from 6 cents per coin to a high of $8,150 in February 2018. No one knows whether or not this climb will continue or if the volatility will become more pronounced as countries move to add regulations on the digital currencies and their trade.

BlockMint sets itself apart in this fast-paced and often confusing new investment frontier by fine-tuning their offerings. Instead of trying to be everything to every investor, BlockMint provides the simplest solution to their customers’ needs by making cryptocurrency IRA investments as simple as possible. As with any investment, clients are encouraged to do their due diligence into the companies they choose to do business with and consult qualified tax professionals before making any decisions which could affect their tax status or taxes owed.