Yes, you can buy Bitcoin in a Fidelity IRA through a product called Fidelity Crypto® IRA. It’s a dedicated retirement account that lets you trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Solana with the same tax treatment as any other IRA.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA The Crypto IRA sits alongside a standard Fidelity brokerage IRA, and the two are linked so cash can move between them.
Which Fidelity IRAs Can Hold Bitcoin
Three account types are eligible:
- Traditional Crypto IRA, where contributions may be deductible and gains grow tax-deferred until distribution.
- Roth Crypto IRA, where contributions go in after tax and qualified withdrawals come out tax-free.
- Rollover Crypto IRA, funded with money moved from a former employer’s retirement plan.
SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, inherited IRAs, and employer-sponsored 401(k) plans are not eligible for Fidelity’s crypto offering.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA The Traditional and Rollover versions are governed by Internal Revenue Code Section 408; the Roth version falls under Section 408A.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
Who Qualifies
You need to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, and living in a state where Fidelity Digital Assets can serve customers. Fidelity Crypto for IRAs is not available in California or Oregon.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA Fidelity does not publish a complete list of excluded states, so residents elsewhere should confirm availability during account opening.
How to Open and Fund the Account
A Fidelity Crypto IRA is a separate account, not an add-on. Opening one requires a matching Fidelity brokerage IRA (Traditional, Roth, or Rollover) that serves as the funding account. If you don’t already have that matching brokerage IRA, Fidelity will open one at the same time.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA Setup includes identity verification, fraud prevention checks, and anti-money-laundering screening,3Fidelity Digital Assets. Fidelity Digital Dollar Terms and Conditions plus the Fidelity Crypto Customer Agreement. The Crypto IRA inherits the beneficiary designation from the linked brokerage IRA.
All funding runs through the brokerage IRA. You deposit money into that account first (by contribution, transfer, or rollover), then move cash into the Crypto IRA to trade. You cannot transfer Bitcoin from an outside wallet. Everything enters as U.S. dollars.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA
Total IRA contributions across all your IRAs for 2026 are capped at $7,500 if you’re under 50 and $8,600 if you’re 50 or older.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits Rollovers don’t count against those limits.
What It Costs
There is no fee to open or maintain the account and no custody fee for holding crypto. Each buy or sell trade carries a 1% fee, applied in both directions.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA A $10,000 Bitcoin purchase costs $100 going in, and another 1% comes off when you sell. Fidelity notes that fees are subject to change.
How Your Bitcoin Is Held
Bitcoin in the account is held by Fidelity Digital Assets, LLC, a separate entity acting as custodian. A portion of client holdings sits in offline cold storage, and the custodian manages the private keys.5Securities and Exchange Commission. Custodial Services Agreement You do not hold or manage keys yourself. Your crypto is held separately from the stocks, bonds, and funds in the linked brokerage IRA.
Crypto held in the account is not covered by FDIC or SIPC insurance.6Fidelity Investments. Safety and Security With Fidelity Crypto Those protections apply to bank deposits and traditional brokerage assets, not digital assets. Stocks and bonds in the linked brokerage IRA keep their SIPC coverage; the Bitcoin does not.
Taxes Inside the IRA
Crypto inside an IRA follows the same tax rules as any other IRA investment. In a Traditional or Rollover Crypto IRA, gains are tax-deferred and distributions are taxed as ordinary income. In a Roth Crypto IRA, qualified distributions (generally after age 59½ and at least five years after your first Roth contribution) come out tax-free, appreciation included.1Fidelity Investments. Invest in a Crypto IRA
A key advantage over holding crypto in a regular brokerage account: selling Bitcoin inside the IRA is not a taxable event. The IRA wrapper defers or eliminates the capital gains hit that would otherwise apply to each profitable trade. Withdrawals before age 59½ generally trigger a 10% penalty on top of any income tax owed, with limited exceptions, matching the standard IRA rules.
Traditional and Rollover Crypto IRAs are subject to required minimum distributions. RMDs are paid in cash, so you’ll need to sell crypto to raise the money if you don’t otherwise have a cash balance.7Fidelity. Required Minimum Distributions – RMD Rules and Options A Roth IRA has no lifetime RMD for the original owner, which is worth knowing if the plan is to hold Bitcoin long-term without a forced sale at a set age.
An Unsettled Regulatory Question
Internal Revenue Code Section 408(m) treats an IRA’s acquisition of a “collectible” as a taxable distribution. The IRS has carved out exceptions for certain gold, silver, and platinum coins and bullion, but cryptocurrency is not on that list.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
In 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2023-27 requesting comments on how non-fungible tokens should be treated under the collectibles rule and proposing a look-through analysis for NFTs. The notice did not resolve the treatment of fungible cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.8Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2023-27 As of 2026, the IRS has not published definitive guidance classifying Bitcoin under Section 408(m). Fidelity operates on the position that Bitcoin is not a collectible, but the point is not settled. If you’re committing significant retirement money, a conversation with a tax professional about that uncertainty is worth the time.