Fortress Trust Review

This expanding self-directed IRA custodian provides multi-layer crypto wallets and self-custody wallets are available.

My Fortress Trust review delves into the storage options, investment choices, fees, and company history so you can decide if this platform is an excellent fit.

The Verdict for Fortress Trust

I’ve given them a rating of 8.9 out of 10.

Criteria	Rating (out of 10)
Security Standards	9
Pricing & Fees	9
Asset Segregation	9
Insurance Coverage	9
Services & Offerings	9
Regulatory Compliance	8.5
Onboarding & Integration	9
Overall Rating	8.9

In this review of Fortress Trust, I’ve followed BIC’s detailed criteria for evaluating the crypto custodian.

About Fortress Trust

Founded in 2022, Las Vegas-based Fortress Trust provides custody wallets, self-directed IRAs, and payment services to cryptocurrency and traditional finance brokerages.

Individuals and businesses worldwide are eligible for taxable and retirement accounts.

Since Fortress isn’t a brokerage, you can’t open an account directly through them like most investing apps.

Instead, it partners with investing platforms and financial advisors within the United States and globally.

The core mission of Fortress is to perform the behind-the-scenes work so you’re able to seamlessly trade crypto and alternative assets and use self-custody wallets. 

Since it is a self-directed IRA custodian, your investing platform may also allow you to invest in other alternative assets, such as precious metals and real estate.

For instance, Fortress may guard your retirement assets with the best crypto IRAs.

Its multi-signature wallet holds your private keys, coordinates balance withdrawals, and verifies with the IRS that your self-directed IRA holdings remain tax-advantaged.  

According to its website, Fortress’s IRA accounts have over $11.8 trillion in assets under custody.

Additionally, Fortress reports receiving over $1 trillion in new deposits annually. 

Some of its previous customers include iTrustCapital and Swan Bitcoin. Both are two of the most popular brokerages for opening a crypto-backed IRA.

However, it doesn’t publicly mention any current customers you can enroll with.

Despite this secrecy, Fortress Trust LLC is a member of the American Bankers Association and the Nevada Bankers Association.

These industry memberships help develop community-friendly policies and banking laws. The State of Nevada also regulates Fortress.

Security Standards

Fortress Trust partners with several enterprise-grade security vendors for risk mitigation.

The platform undergoes continual reviews and SOC Type II audits looking for data breaches and protocol improvements for its various services to protect your sensitive information. 

These security and threat detection measures are similar across crypto wallets. By default, anticipate your digital assets to be stored offline in a cold storage wallet.

Many consider this storage method as the most secure while providing easy access for trading and withdrawals.  

Two of the third-party partners with multi-layer security include:

• Fireblocks: The first crypto tech company to be certified by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) in several critical areas. 
• Google Cloud Protection: Safeguards your crypto assets, tokenized assets, and NFTs.

I like that Fortress Trust uses multiple third-party partners to help prevent platform-wide account intrusions.

These companies are some of the biggest and most reputable in the crypto tech space. This model helps prevent repeating the 2022 FTX collapse due to insufficient controls.

You can review the real-time Fortress Trust security control status online 24/7.

Pricing & Fees

Fortress Trust only discloses its crypto custodian fees. Your IRA provider may charge additional transaction fees and account service fees.

Custody fees

Anticipate paying these fees to set up and maintain trading and retirement accounts.

Individual account annual fee	$1/month plus $2 one-time setup fee
Business account annual fee	$5/month plus $5 one-time setup fee
IRA annual fee	$195/year
IRA rollover fee	$45 (one-time)
Asset protection trust	$1,795 setup fee then $595/year
Digital assets custody	0.00%/month
Fiat currency custody	0.20%/month
Account closure	1% ($175 maximum)

Payment fees

Fortress Trust also charges payment fees on deposits and withdrawals.

Incoming wires (per item)	$20 (domestic) or $35 (international)
Outgoing wires (per item)	$20 + 0.10% (domestic) or $35 + 0.10% (international)
External account linking	$2 per account
ACH	$0.50 per incoming or outgoing transaction
Digital asset withdrawals	0.10% per transaction
Stablecoin conversions	0.25% per transaction
Non-stablecoin conversions	1% per transaction

Additional fees apply for optional services, such as same-day transaction processing and overnight mailing.

Asset Segregation

Each customer’s portfolio is in a separate custody wallet that Fortress monitors individually.

This is the most desirable storage method because it provides investors with peace of mind and allows for transparent audits. 

Per IRS regulations, the custodian holds all crypto keys with a standard crypto-backed IRA.

This policy ensures tax compliance and helps prevent unauthorized transactions. Still yet, Fortress offers self-custody wallets to trust companies while keeping assets segregated.

Moreover, all assets are held off the balance sheet, separately from the Fortress financial reserves.

Therefore, your positions can’t be used as collateral for crypto-backed loans, distributed to other investors, or to repay Fortress’s creditors or operating expenses.

Since you’re opening a cryptocurrency trust, every asset is designated as “for benefit of” (FBO), conveying your name or a selected trustee.

You can easily withdraw your assets to a verified wallet address or convert into fiat.

Insurance Coverage

The company simply states that it maintains cybersecurity insurance, yet doesn’t disclose coverage limits or its insurance providers.

Typically, most accounts have up to $250 million in insurance against digital crime, private key theft or copying, and insider theft.

Unfortunately, in August 2023, Fortress Trust detected a security breach through one of its third-party cloud security vendors, resulting in the loss of $15 million in customer-owned crypto.

Fortunately, Ripple completely restored the missing balances, resulting in zero investor losses.

While no custody service is immune from intrusions, this incident is one of the most expensive in recent memory.

It helped force the resignation of Fortress co-founder and then-CEO Scott Purcell and derailed the pending sale to Ripple. 

It’s critical to remember that crypto insurance isn’t as extensive as government-backed insurance, such as FDIC insurance for banks or SIPC insurance for traditional investments.

Services & Offerings

Fortress Trust specializes in self-directed IRAs and offers several background services so investors can easily transfer funds, trade crypto, and comply with IRS guidelines.

• Retirement accounts: You can invest in non-crypto assets, including precious metals, tokenized assets, royalties, real estate, and private business interests. Tax-advantaged traditional, Roth, SEP, and Simple IRAs are available.
• Custodial accounts: Personal and business taxable accounts can buy crypto and alternative investments.
• Multi-signature wallet: The platform stores three keys to prevent unauthorized transactions and to help you avoid misplacing your seed phrases.
• Self-custody wallets: Customers can also hold their own keys with Fortress keeping at least one key to maintain IRA tax compliance. Consider an asset protection trust for more control over your digital investments.
• Crypto storage wallets: Hot and cold storage wallets help divide your on-chain and off-chain holdings for near-term trading and offline long-term storage.
• Liquidity: Easily convert cash into crypto and vice versa. 
• Payment rails: Customers and merchants can easily process fiat and crypto-funded transactions.

As a reminder, most of these services are built for tax-advantaged crypto trading. However, you’re able to tailor them to your long-term vision.

Customer support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific. It’s usually easiest to start a conversation through email or by filling out the online contact form.

Regulatory Compliance

A universal practice through legit investing apps, Fortress Trust performs know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) account verifications during customer onboarding.

Eligible investors can start buying crypto after successful enrollment and funding.

Individuals will likely need to furnish their driver’s license or another government ID to verify their identity and official residence.

The compliance service helps expedite the onboarding process for investors and reduces the administrative burden for financial companies.

Unfortunately, Fortress Trust accounts are not available in these states:

• Alaska 
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Maine
• New York
• North Carolina
• Texas

Being unable to operate in a handful of states is a considerable hindrance for letting Fortress partner with some of the largest exchanges.

In addition to ensuring that prospective customers live in eligible states, the custodian generates the appropriate tax-reporting paperwork for the IRS and state-level tax agencies.

Finally, Fortress Trust is regulated by Nevada and also maintains licenses across the country.

Onboarding & Integration

Financial institutions, neo-banks, investing platforms, and businesses wanting to offer crypto-backed IRAs can easily begin offering Fortress Trust accounts.

1. Contact Fortress Trust: First, provide your contact information and a brief message describing your desired services.
2. Embed onboarding code: You can easily place a customizable code on your website and app for customers to create accounts.
3. Configure investment options and fees: Decide which investment options to offer, transaction fees, and price markups. Online documents provide basic instructions and tutorial screenshots to assist with various setup tasks.
4. Account funding: Customers can fund their account by ACH or wire transfer, IRA rollovers, and in-kind transfers, and more.
5. Start investing: Investors are now able to trade supported cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and altcoins. 
6. Ongoing compliance: Fortress Trust operates the custody wallet with asset balance audits, constant security reviews, and end-to-end insurance against fraudulent events.

Fortress Trust Alternatives

These crypto custodians may offer more appealing services, more competitive pricing, or better availability for your goals.

BitGo

BitGo launched in 2013 and has served over 1,500 institutions worldwide. Third-party custody and self-custody wallets insured up to $250 million are a core service.

Further, enjoy perks including 24/7 global support and a dedicated account manager.

Coinbase Prime

Coinbase Prime offers a full-service brokerage experience with the United States’ largest public crypto exchange.

The Prime platform has digital and physical vault storage, over 400 cryptocurrencies, and staking rewards with institution-grade security.

Digital Trust

Digital Trust supports many crypto and alternative asset classes through self-directed IRAs and checkbook IRAs to serve individuals, trusts, LLCs, and businesses.

Launching in 2021, it is a preferred custodian for some of the highest-rated Bitcoin IRAs.

Is Fortress Trust a company you can trust?

Fortress Trust has an enormous customer base and partners with leading crypto security platforms to serve investors worldwide.

Its pricing and service quality are competitive, but its 2023 phishing attack remains a sore spot that requires rebuilding trust with investors.

Additionally, its custody services are prohibited in a handful of states causing some traders to seek alternatives for opening a Bitcoin IRA.

FAQs