Rocket Dollar Review

Rocket Dollar At A Glance

The score comes from our best Bitcoin and crypto IRA providers ranking, where Rocket Dollar places fifth because of its fixed costs.

How Rocket Dollar Works

Rocket Dollar, Inc., an Austin company founded in 2018 and led by co-founder and CEO Henry Yoshida, according to its team page, opens a self-directed IRA held at Digital Trust, then, on the Gold and Platinum plans, sets up a trust or LLC owned by the IRA with its own business checking account. That's the "checkbook" part: you, acting for the IRA, can wire money to an investment without asking the custodian to sign off on each one.

For crypto, the IRA's trust or LLC opens an account at an exchange that accepts entity accounts. Rocket Dollar's partner directory lists Kraken, Gemini, Cboe Digital (formerly ErisX) and the bitcoin broker River, and marks all four as working only with checkbook accounts, not the Silver plan's custodian-held IRA. Kraken approves applications the same day or within a few days if your Rocket Dollar account is already funded, or in about two weeks for a new Gold account, according to Rocket Dollar's Kraken page. Kraken doesn't serve Washington or New York residents through this setup.

You can't move coins you already own into the IRA. Contributions must be cash, and Rocket Dollar says it doesn't currently accept in-kind crypto transfers from other IRA providers.

Rocket Dollar Plans And Fees

Rocket Dollar's three plans charge a one-time setup fee and a flat monthly fee, with no fee based on your balance, per Rocket Dollar's pricing page.

Wires add up too. On a checkbook IRA, moving money from the IRA to the checkbook account costs $35 and each outgoing wire to an investment costs $10. The pricing page lists "unlimited fee-free wire transfers" on Platinum but also a $10 outgoing wire fee for the Solo 401(k), so ask which applies before you choose that plan.

Digital Trust may also charge its own fees in some situations, which Rocket Dollar links to but doesn't set. Digital Trust's fee schedule, last updated November 2025, lists $35 domestic wires, a 1% fee per asset on in-kind crypto transfers out, $75 per asset for re-registration, and $150 to $300 to close all or most of an account.

Exchange fees come on top. At Kraken's lowest-tier taker fee of 0.80%, a $10,000 bitcoin buy and later sale adds about $160. Five years on Gold, with one funding wire, one investment wire and that round trip, lands around $3,200.

When The Math Works

Flat fees hurt small accounts and help large ones. On a $10,000 account, Gold costs about 6% a year in fixed fees. On $200,000, the same $40 a month is about 0.24% a year, close to a spot bitcoin ETF's expense ratio. Rocket Dollar makes more sense the bigger the account and the more non-crypto assets you plan to hold.

Crypto And Other Assets

With a checkbook IRA, you can buy any coin your chosen exchange sells to entity accounts, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. The Gold plan lets the IRA move coins to a wallet the trust controls, so the IRA can hold its own keys.

The same account can also hold real estate, private company shares, private loans, farmland, precious metals and other alternative assets. Rocket Dollar's partner pages list a range of platforms, or you can bring your own deal if the IRS allows the asset.

Rules For Holding Keys In An IRA

The IRA owns the coins, not you. The wallet, exchange account and any records must be in the name of the IRA's trust or LLC, and you can't use the coins personally, pledge them or mix them with your own wallets. The IRS bars prohibited transactions between an IRA and its owner, according to its retirement plan investment FAQs, and a slip can disqualify the whole IRA.

Custody And Safety

Digital Trust is the custodian for Rocket Dollar IRAs, per Rocket Dollar's pricing page. With a checkbook IRA, your crypto sits wherever the IRA's trust puts it: at the exchange, or in a wallet the trust controls. That shifts the safety question from Rocket Dollar to the exchange you pick and how carefully you store the keys.

We found no regulatory action against Rocket Dollar. For exchange records, see our crypto fines and penalties tracker and our crypto hacks tracker.

Pros And Cons

Pros

• Buy crypto on an exchange you pick and hold your own keys inside the IRA (Gold and Platinum)
• Real estate, private deals and crypto in one account
• Flat fees that don't grow with your balance
• Solo 401(k) option for self-employed people with no employees

Cons

• $2,160 to $3,900 over five years before exchange fees
• Exchange partners require Gold or Platinum
• Exchange onboarding takes extra steps and time
• No in-kind crypto transfers in
• You carry the record-keeping and prohibited-transaction risk

Who Rocket Dollar Is Best For

Rocket Dollar fits someone with a large IRA, roughly six figures or more, who wants crypto plus other alternative assets and is comfortable handling an exchange account and keys for an entity. It's a poor fit for a few thousand dollars in bitcoin, where a flat 1% crypto IRA or a spot ETF costs far less.

Rocket Dollar Alternatives

• iTrustCapital: a 1% trade fee and no monthly fee, about $200 over five years on $10,000. Read our iTrustCapital review.
• Unchained IRA: you hold two of three bitcoin keys without running an entity, for $250 a year plus 1.5% per trade. Our multisig wallets article explains the setup.
• Fidelity Crypto IRA: four coins, 1% trades and no account fee. Visit Fidelity.
• Public Crypto IRA: formerly Alto CryptoIRA. Read our Public Crypto IRA review.

Risks: What To Watch Out For

• Prohibited transactions: using IRA coins personally, or paying IRA costs from your own wallet, can end the IRA's tax treatment.
• Key loss: if the trust's keys are lost, the coins are gone, and no custodian can restore them.
• Exchange risk: coins left at an exchange depend on that exchange's solvency and security.
• Fixed costs: the monthly fee keeps running in a down market, when it takes a larger share of a shrinking account.
• Price swings: crypto can lose most of its value, and traditional IRA withdrawals before age 59½ generally owe income tax plus a 10% penalty.

FAQ

How Much Does Rocket Dollar Cost?

Rocket Dollar's Silver plan costs $360 to open and $30 a month, Gold costs $600 and $40 a month, and Platinum costs $900 and $50 a month. Exchange, wire and custodian fees are extra.

Can I Hold My Own Crypto Keys With Rocket Dollar?

Yes, on the Gold and Platinum plans. The keys belong to the IRA's trust or LLC, so you manage them for the IRA, not for yourself.

Which Crypto Exchanges Work With Rocket Dollar?

Rocket Dollar lists Kraken, Gemini, Cboe Digital and River as partners, all for checkbook accounts. Other exchanges can work if they accept accounts for an IRA-owned trust or LLC.

Can I Transfer Crypto Into A Rocket Dollar IRA?

No. Contributions must be in cash, and Rocket Dollar doesn't currently accept in-kind crypto transfers from other IRA providers.

Does Rocket Dollar Offer A Solo 401(k)?

Yes, on the Platinum plan. A Solo 401(k) is for self-employed people with no full-time employees other than a spouse.