Complaint Review: BITCOINIRA - Las Vegas NV

I've had it with this Bitcoinira.com I will be transferring my assets to another company as I find the way you change the payment methods unethical and inappropriate (New company charges no monthly or yearly fees). Stay tuned to this thread as I will let you know how the transfer process goes. I will also be setting up a Facebook page for dissatisfied Bitcoin IRA customers to share their unpleasant experience. I have much more to report and will due so in the near future.

What is BitcoinIRA? Bitcoinira.com is a company that offers individuals the opportunity to invest in cryptocurrencies through a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA). This allows investors to diversify their retirement portfolios by including digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies alongside more traditional assets.

They charge an annual fee of $240 and a monthly fee and a wallet holding fee of .05% charged monthly. As of today I pay around $540 per year total. There also buy/sell fees are 1% which do not matter to me because I usually do not trade.

I believe bitcoin is going to $1million so at that point, I will have a monthly fee of $500.

On 8/20/2021 the problem started when I received an email from BitcoinIRA.com  stating that "Our records show we need to update your payment source for ongoing fees for your IRA account". 

They gave 3 options.

#1 Pay with my IRA Crypto Assets.

#2 Register & Pay with EARN

#3 Pay with Credit?Debit Card

 Option #1 you pay with your assets, meaning you have less crypto when you retire.  Option #1 would never be used by me to pay my fees.

Option #2 Pay with EARN. The Genesis Earn program was offered by Genesis Global Trading, a leading digital asset prime brokerage. The program allows institutional clients to earn yield on their cryptocurrency holdings by lending them out through Genesis' lending platform. This yield is used to offset Bitcoinira.com's monthly fees.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, were involved in a program called "Earn" through their cryptocurrency exchange, Gemini. I was not to keen on the "Zuck" allegedly rip them off by stealing the Facebook idea. However, they did win the law suit for $65 million and took $11 million of that and bought 120,000 bitcoin at $120 each which would be worth $6 billion today.

Anyway, BitcoinIRA uploaded  the EARN agreement. I sifted through its many pages.  One line stuck out to me and that was "you may not get your assets back".  Option #2 was now definitely out.

Side note: After the collapse of FTX, Genesis halted all withdrawals of crypto from their platform. Investors had to wait over a year to get their crypto back.

Option #3 Pay with Credit/Debit card was what I initially chose.  To open my bitcoinira.com account I had to provide my checking account and routing number which was delivered to me by docusign.  Sometime after bitcoinira.com stopped using ACH so I had to switch to my debit card and again that transaction was through docusign and again I did not choose the option "sell my digital assets to collect the fees due".

September 7, 2021 I received another email from Bitcoin IRA stating "Our records indicate we will be collecting ongoing maintenance fees from assets inside your IRA account" and "if you would like to continue paying with your IRA account, no further action is needed", "If we do not receive an alternative method in the next 5 business days we will move forward with payments from your IRA account". 

How can their records indicate something I have never agree to?  Where is the docusign like the ones where I agreed to pay with my bank account? I wonder how many people received these emails and never responded in 5 days and had their crypto currency liquidated?

September 24, 2021 a micro amount,(as Tanya put it) of my bitcoin was liquidated to pay my yearly fee. The annual fee was supposed to be paid on the anniversary of my account inception which was Dec/Jan, eight months earlier. The bitcoin was eventually returned months later after a strenuous effort on my part.

December of 2023, I lost my bank card from which my fees are collected. BitcoinIRA texted me that the card on file was declined. I called them the next day to give them the new card. 

January of 2024 I noticed my cash balance was gone. It turns out my cash was liquidated from my bitcoinira.com account to pay the fees. A BitcoinIRA associate,Tanya Soler said it was due to my bank card not being linked properly. I find this explanation inadequate. This is the second time my assets were liquidated to pay fees and I was not notified prior to the liquidation. 

Wednesday June 5, 2024, I received a text that my new card was declined.  The card in question was charged all this year for fees. I had just used it to pay for two cheese burgers at Burger King. I called my bank and they said the card was fine.  I called the phone number in the text on June 7, 2024 at 2:52 PM to tell them my card was fine but after being on hold 17 minutes before an answering machine said to leave your name and number and they would get back to you shortly. I have yet to hear from them.

I recently had a video call to verify my identity and that I wanted an  in-kind transfer to another company. I was told the fees for the transfer would be 1% of the total transfer assets. I emailed Tanya Soler ``please do not liquidate my bitcoin for transfer fees." Her response was, "Unfortunately, the 1% in kind transfer charge can only be charged from the digital assets themselves when transferring out. I apologize that I cannot offer another option for this." 

How can that be if I opted only to pay my fees through my bank account?