BlockTrust IRA Uses AI-Powered Quant Trading to Outperform Bitcoin and Ethereum Benchmarks
As spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs gain traction and Wall Street deepens its crypto involvement, more investors can now access digital assets through individual retirement accounts (IRAs). These accounts offer tax benefits and diverse investment choices—ranging from stocks and real estate to commodities—and increasingly, cryptocurrencies. However, crypto IRAs typically follow a simple buy-and-hold strategy.
While buy-and-hold may work well for traditionally stable assets like the S&P 500, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum remain highly volatile, creating opportunities as well as risks.
BlockTrust IRA aims to capitalize on this volatility by actively managing crypto positions to maximize returns rather than just holding long-term.
“We’re the only company using an AI system integrated with expert traders that automatically moves clients into cash when necessary, then waits for optimal signals to buy back in,” Jonathan Rose, CEO of BlockTrust, told CoinDesk. “Many fear volatility and risk, but we embrace it—that’s how we generate returns for our clients. Our track record shows we’re right far more often than we’re wrong.”
The secret to BlockTrust’s strategy is a partnership with Animus Technologies, a sophisticated fund providing advanced asset management tools for crypto. Animus collects and processes enormous amounts of data globally—so much so that a European government agency recently inquired about the data’s purpose, according to Rose.
Historically, Animus’s insights were limited to high-net-worth individuals and institutional funds. Now, BlockTrust’s retail clients can access these advanced quant trading signals through their IRA accounts.
Currently, the strategy is applied to Bitcoin and Ethereum, though BlockTrust supports over 60 cryptocurrencies in total. Investors can open non-managed accounts with as little as $1,000 or opt for managed accounts starting at $25,000. Trading fees range from 0.4% for non-managed accounts to as low as 0.14% for managed portfolios.
Since its launch in February, BlockTrust IRA has quickly gained traction, reaching $10 million in assets by March and projecting growth to $100 million by year-end.
BlockTrust’s global reach allows investors worldwide to participate, provided they clear Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures. U.S. investors benefit from the added advantage of using tax-advantaged retirement savings.
While crypto markets evolve rapidly, and strategies can become outdated due to changing economic or blockchain dynamics, Rose remains confident.
“When Animus Technologies presents at hedge fund conferences, they come back smiling, saying they’re light-years ahead of anyone else in this space,” Rose said. “It’ll take several years for competitors to even come close.”
