When both structures are held inside a tax-advantaged IRA, the comparison reduces to pure fee drag. This calculator models the direct Bitcoin IRA custody fee against the Bitcoin ETF expense ratio in a conventional IRA wrapper over the chosen horizon.
When both structures are held inside a tax-advantaged IRA wrapper, the comparison reduces to pure fee drag. Distributions from either structure are taxed as ordinary income (Traditional) or are tax-free (Roth qualified); the underlying instrument does not change that treatment.
Inside an IRA wrapper, US spot Bitcoin ETFs and dedicated Bitcoin IRAs receive equivalent tax treatment. The comparison reduces to fee drag plus structural differences in custody architecture.
Not modeled: custody architecture differences (the ETF concentrates custody at a single ETF custodian, typically Coinbase Custody; dedicated Bitcoin IRAs offer multi-institution and collaborative custody alternatives); inheritance treatment within the IRA; conventional IRA brokerage account costs that may apply alongside the ETF expense ratio.
For the taxable account comparison (where tax treatment differs), see the Bitcoin vs Bitcoin ETF (Taxable) calculator.