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For Matthew Roed, Social Security is looking a lot less promising than the money he’s stashed away in his BitcoinIRA.

Roed is a registered nurse living in Golden Valley, Minnesota, and he says he’s spent 16,000 hours researching all things bitcoin. His conclusion? Investing in the cryptocurrency is the key to retiring well, and the best way to do it is through a tax-free, self-directed Individual Retirement Account, or IRA.

“Since bitcoin is legally classified as property by the U.S. government and my crypto is inside of an IRA, I knew that I would greatly reduce my taxable expenses due to exponential growth,” said Roed.

At today’s prices, the gamble has so far paid off.

The MBA grad, father, and husband initially invested $30,000 into his BitcoinIRA. Right now, he says that his retirement portfolio is up to $250,000,

While it’s down from its peak of $500,000, Roed still feels vindicated in his conviction that bitcoin is the future.

“No one wanted to listen to me at that time, including my own family,” he said. “I became reclusive and used my frustration to push more and more into getting involved in that market.”

RN Matthew Roed at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
Matthew Roed

BitcoinIRA

BitcoinIRA launched in May of 2016, offering investors the tax-advantage of an IRA, plus the return of a high-risk, high-reward alternative asset class. It’s similar in nature to other IRAs, except that instead of being funded by gold, cash, and bonds, it’s backed by bitcoin.

The company has more than 100,000 individual account holders, including clients as young as 18. But chief operating officer Chris Kline tells CNBC that 75% of account holders are 45 and over. “It’s not a young kids’ game anymore,” he said.

BitcoinIRA isn’t just dealing in bitcoin either. It now includes a long list of cryptocurrencies, including ethereum and litecoin.

Duke University’s Campbell Harvey thinks diversification is the right call.

“To have a portfolio that has exposure…to a single crypto like bitcoin, that doesn’t make any sense, because while bitcoin is the most important one right now, its share of the overall capitalization of cryptos has decreased through time. There are so many other tokens out there,” Harvey said.

When CNBC first profiled BitcoinIRA in 2017, it served $6 million in transactions for 700 account holders. This month, it passed $1.5 billion in all-time transactions.

There were also far fewer players in the crypto retirement space. The market is now flooded with options.

A recent survey of financial advisors shows a significant shift to cryptocurrencies. 14% of the more than 500 financial advisors included in the report said they now use or recommend cryptocurrency to clients, versus fewer than 1% in 2019 and 2020.

IRA custodian Kingdom Trust offers users the option to diversify in 20 different cryptocurrencies. CEO Ryan Radloff tells CNBC that $2 billion of the $17 billion that it holds for clients is now in cryptocurrency. That’s up from $350 million a year ago.

“The amount of people interested in including bitcoin in their retirement savings…is increasing exponentially,” said Radloff. “People don’t want zombie retirement accounts that only allow you to invest in three target-date funds. They want to have more choice in what they do with their hard-earned money, and they want access to hard-assets that will increase in value over a long time horizon.”

IRA vs. Roth IRA vs. 401(k)

Crypto-backed retirement portfolios may rapidly be gaining in popularity, but there are still some major limitations.

For one, while there are multiple ways to invest your savings for retirement – be it an employer-sponsored 401(k) or a Roth IRA – very few of these vehicles actually allow for an alternative asset like gold or crypto.

That’s why the primary retirement vehicle for holding crypto is self-directed IRAs, explains Shehan Chandrasekera, a CPA and head of tax strategy at crypto tax software company CoinTracker.io.

As the name suggests, it’s an account you open with a custodian, you make all investment decisions, and your income is tax sheltered until your retirement. Kingdom Trust and BitcoinIRA both follow this model.

“So far as retirement accounts go, right now, with bitcoin, it’s IRAs, IRAs, IRAs,” explained Onramp Invest chief executive Tyrone Ross. Onramp sells software that helps financial advisers keep track of client cryptocurrency investments.

“Because it’s considered property by the IRS…that is why you’re seeing the self-directed IRA space explode,” continued Ross. “There’s a lot of regulation to get through before you get it into the 401(k) space.”

There are exceptions. A small 401(k) provider called ForUsAll announced last month that it is now allowing participants to allocate up to 5% of their retirement funds into 50 different crypto assets including bitcoin, which will be custodied and managed by Coinbase.

Companies like BitWage and Digital Asset Investment Management are also trying to fold crypto into traditional retirement plans offered by employers.

But Chandrasekera says that “generally speaking, 99% of 401(k) plans don’t offer bitcoin services,” so there is still a ways to go until bitcoin hits mainstream retirement platforms.

Fidelity, for example, tells clients that retail brokerage customers cannot buy or sell any cryptocurrencies at Fidelity, though they can, theoretically, get exposure to the bitcoin trade through crypto-associated companies trading on the public markets. Same goes for Charles Schwab.

Volatility risk versus tax savings

Roed spoke to CNBC after wrapping a 14-hour night shift. Those post-work hours are when the rehabilitation staff nurse invests the most time into researching ways to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Part of why he settled on BitcoinIRA has to do with the company’s staking program. Roed lends third parties his bitcoin and in return, he earns an annual percentage rate, or APR, for the risk. “It’s something like 2% per year,” he said.

This helps to offset the $240 annual account fee, plus the average transaction fees of 1% to sell and 5.5% to buy.

Kline says that clients can earn up to 6% annual percentage yield on cash and cryptocurrency, which helps balance out the fees.

Another major consideration? The volatility of bitcoin.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency is trading at about half of what it was worth in April.

“We don’t see that volatility in, for example, the stock market,” explained Harvey.

“It’s naive to think that bitcoin is just going to keep on going up. There is going to be some limit, and people need to deeply consider that,” he said.

Beyond the volatility risks, the Securities and Exchange Commission has also warned of the risk of fraud when participating in self-directed IRAs which deal in cryptos.

But Kline remains optimistic. He ran CNBC through a case study of one client who purchased about $1.5 million worth of bitcoin in April of 2020, when the token was trading at around $7,335. At today’s value, his investment is worth well over $6 million.

BitcoinIRA case study

Date Quantity Unit price Total purchased Current unit value Total current value
Apr. 9, 2020 193.295 BTC $7,335 $1,417,859 32,416 6,265,850

But ultimately, Kline says it’s the tax break that makes BitcoinIRA a slam dunk for those looking to deal in cryptos.

If a taxpayer at an average income level were to sell his bitcoin today, he would pay no tax for the crypto held in his BitcoinIRA. If it were in a Coinbase account, this same person would face a 22% short-term capital gains tax or 15% for a long-term holding.

“Pretty clear quantitative reasoning to put an asset like bitcoin in an IRA setting,” said Kline.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to show that registered nurse Matthew Roed spent 16,000 hours researching cryptocurrencies, not 160,000 hours. Also, it clarifies that 75% of BitcoinIRA account holders are age 45 and over.

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

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Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on the day of Circle Internet Group’s IPO, in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has applied for a national trust bank charter, moving forward on its mission to bring stablecoins into the traditional financial world after the firm’s big market debut this month, CNBC confirmed.

Shares rose 1% after hours.

If the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency grants the bank charter, Circle will establish the First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. Under the charter, Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, will also be able to offer custody services in the future to institutional clients for assets, which could include representations of stocks and bonds on a blockchain network.

Reuters first reported on Circle’s bank charter application.

There are no plans to change the management of Circle’s USDC reserves, which are currently held with other major banks.

Anchorage Digital is the only other crypto company to obtain such a license.

Circle’s move comes after a wildly successful IPO and debut trading month on the public markets. Shares of the company are up 484% in June. The company is also benefiting from a wave of optimism after the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, which would give the U.S. a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Having a federally regulated trust charter would also help Circle meet requirements under the GENIUS Act.

“Establishing a national digital currency trust bank of this kind marks a significant milestone in our goal to build an internet financial system that is transparent, efficient and accessible,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement shared with CNBC. “By applying for a national trust charter, Circle is taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure.”

“Further, we will align with emerging U.S. regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, which we believe can enhance the reach and resilience of the U.S. dollar, and support the development of crucial, market neutral infrastructure for the world’s leading institutions to build on,” he said.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

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Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

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Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images


Meta shares hit a record high on Monday, underscoring investor interest in the company’s new AI superintelligence group.

The company’s shares reached $747.90 during midday trading, topping Meta’s previous stock market record in February when it began laying off the 5% of its workforce that it deemed “low performers.”

Meta joins Microsoft and Nvidia among tech megacaps that have reached new highs of late, all closing at records Monday. Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Tesla remain below their all-time highs reached late last year or early this year.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been on an AI hiring blitz amid fierce competition with rivals such as OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet. Earlier in June, Meta said it would hire Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and some of his colleagues as part of a $14.3 billion investment into the executive’s data labeling and annotation startup.

The social media company also hired Nat Friedman and his business partner, Daniel Gross, the chief of Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup with a valuation of $32 billion, CNBC reported on June 19. Meta’s attempts to buy Safe Superintelligence were rebuffed by the startup’s founder and AI expert Ilya Sutskever, the report noted.

Wang and Friedman are the leaders of Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs, tasked with overseeing the company’s artificial intelligence foundation models, projects and research, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The term superintelligence refers to technology that exceeds human capability.

Bloomberg News first reported about the new superintelligence unit.

Meta has also snatched AI researchers from OpenAI. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said during a podcast that Meta was offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s technology chief, spoke about the social media company’s AI hiring spree during a June 20 interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime,” saying that the talent market is “really incredible and kind of unprecedented in my 20-year career as a technology executive.”

WATCH: Meta’s AI talent spending spree

Meta escalated talent war with OpenAI

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Joby Aviation stock pops 12% after delivering first flying taxi to UAE

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Joby Aviation stock pops 12% after delivering first flying taxi to UAE

An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation flies near the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023. 

Roselle Chen | Reuters

Joby Aviation stock soared about 12% as the flying air taxi maker got closer to launching a service in the United Arab Emirates.

The electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, company said Monday that it delivered its first aircraft to the UAE and has completed piloted flight tests as it readies for a 2026 launch in the region.

“Our flights and operational footprint in Dubai are a monumental step toward weaving air taxi services into the fabric of daily life worldwide,” said founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt in a release. He called the Middle East nation a “launchpad for a global revolution in how we move.”

Joby’s planned launch in the UAE was announced in February 2024 as part of an agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority. The deal included exclusive rights to conduct air taxi service in Dubai for six years.

Read more CNBC tech news

As part of the project, Joby said in November that it began building one vertiport at Dubai International Airport, with three additional locations slated for Palm Jumeirah and Dubai’s downtown and marina. Joby also announced an air taxi agreement with three Abu Dhabi government departments in 2024.

The California-based company has made other expansion moves in the Middle East. Shares jumped earlier this month after Saudi Arabian firm Abdul Latif Jameel announced a roughly $1 billion investment for up to 300 eVTOLs. The firm participated in Joby’s Series C funding round.

Joby shares have surged more than 32% this year, swelling its market capitalization to over $9 billion.

Demand for air taxis, which take off and land similar to helicopters, has gained momentum in recent years. The service faces regulatory and safety hurdles but has been lauded for its ability to cut traffic congestion and slash emissions.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that included a pilot program for testing electric air taxis.

WATCH: Joby Aviation shares pop on Saudi Investment

Joby Aviation shares pop on Saudi Investment

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