Crypto investing

You can deposit funds into your crypto account via your Funding account or by initiating a wire transfer. We currently do not support crypto transfers from third-party wallets.  Betterment will use the cash from your deposits to purchase coins in your crypto portfolio at the next available trade window. All crypto portfolios contain a cash allocation and the number of coins in your portfolio is reduced at a low account balance.  Please see our FAQs on Transaction limits and Transaction ...

To initiate a withdrawal from your crypto account, select the crypto portfolio > Transfer > Withdraw.  You may withdraw any amount greater than $10 and up to your entire crypto account balance. When you request a withdrawal, we will move that amount out of your crypto portfolio and into cash. Funds will then be transferred to your requested Funding account via ACH. Please see our FAQs on Transaction limits and Transaction timelines for more information.

Betterment’s crypto custodian, Gemini, charges a crypto trading and custody fee that fluctuates based on trading volume, up to 0.15% per trade. You can review your per-trade fees paid to Gemini on your crypto account statement, within the trade details of each eligible transaction on your Activity page, and as a separate fee line item within the balance breakdown of your portfolio’s Performance page.

There are no minimum balance requirements for crypto portfolios. This means that the minimum balance is $0.  One condition to note is that the smallest deposit amount you can make into a crypto portfolio is $10. This is due to ACH transaction limitations.  All crypto portfolios contain a cash allocation and the number of coins in your portfolio is reduced at a low account balance. See portfolio disclosures for more detail.

Blockchain technology became popular in the 2010s with the advent of Bitcoin. In this system, blocks of data are linked together like a chain, which provides security by making it seemingly impossible to go back and change a transaction without breaking the remainder of the chain. At first, it was used only as a way to record transactions, but now it is used to manage many different types of information and to track assets all over the world. With a blockchain, you can trade or track anything ...

Unlike fiat currency—e.g., dollars or euros—cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning it is not issued or controlled by a central authority. It flows from account to account (or digital wallet to digital wallet) through encrypted transactions that are listed in a large, secure public ledger known as a blockchain.  History of cryptocurrency Although some early forms of cryptocurrency launched in the 1990s, Bitcoin, invented in 2008, was the first cryptocurrency to gain widespread adoption. In the ...

Only individual taxable crypto accounts are available at the present time. Joint, IRA, trust, or LLC crypto accounts are not currently available. We’ll be sure to monitor customer requests for other types of crypto accounts, as we may be able to offer them in the future. The above material and content should not be considered to be a recommendation. Investing in digital assets is highly speculative and volatile, and only suitable for investors who are able to bear the risk of potential loss and ...

In order to create a crypto portfolio, select “Add New” from the menu after logging in from a web browser. Or, on the mobile app, log in and click on "Add account” toward the bottom of the Home screen. Next, select “Invest in personalized crypto”. From here, you’ll be able to choose a crypto portfolio and view the portfolio inception date, fee, and portfolio holdings before creating the account. Currently, we only offer crypto portfolios for individual taxable accounts.

You can choose to exclude certain coins from your crypto portfolio by following the steps below: Select the crypto portfolio > Settings > Removed cryptocurrencies > Edit  Please note that if you want to entirely divest from a certain coin, you will need to remove it from each of your crypto portfolios held at Betterment.

Digital assets held in your Betterment crypto accounts are not subject to FDIC insurance or SIPC protections. To learn more about why, please refer to this article.  If you are looking to learn more about how insurance applies to non-crypto accounts, visit this resource.

At this time, it is not possible to edit your crypto portfolio or transfer directly between crypto accounts, but we hope to support this in the future. For now, if you would like to be invested in different digital assets, you will need to liquidate your current holdings to a connected bank account. You can then redeposit funds into the crypto account of your choice.

Betterment’s automatic rebalancing feature is available across its investing accounts. Note that rebalancing methods vary according to account type. Below you will find the rebalancing methods unique to crypto. We adjust your portfolio based on your account balance and market movements to help manage risk. Once you meet or exceed the threshold balance, you can expect the following: If drift is less than or equal to 15%, a constrained rebalance may occur. Betterment crypto accounts hold ...

At this time, the following tax optimization features are not available for crypto portfolios: Tax Loss Harvesting+ Tax Coordination Charitable donations Cost basis calculation and retention Tax reporting (as tax season approaches, we will provide crypto investors with the information necessary for filing) We’ll be sure to monitor requests to use these features with crypto portfolios, as we may be able to offer them in the future.

Betterment offers crypto portfolios built and managed by experts for long-term investing. To view the holdings for each of our crypto portfolios, please click on the links below: Universe Portfolio  Sustainable Portfolio  Metaverse Portfolio  Decentralized Finance Portfolio

With Betterment Crypto account(s), we’ve chosen a hybrid risk parity for the portfolio asset allocation.  Hybrid risk parity is a crypto portfolio construction approach that attempts to create well-diversified portfolios, reduce trading costs, and improve expected returns relative to volatility over time.  To learn more specific details about the 4 crypto portfolio strategies offered and how they are constructed, please visit this resource.

The Universe portfolio features an especially diversified collection of cryptocurrencies, including established coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It offers broad exposure across the crypto landscape, from decentralized finance to the metaverse and more. This portfolio is designed by experts to help manage risk with the objective of delivering meaningful returns. To learn more, please visit this resource.

The Metaverse portfolio provides greater exposure to cryptocurrencies helping to build a network of immersive digital experiences. Developers are using crypto and NFTs to recreate many aspects of daily life in a real-time, virtual world AKA the metaverse. The metaverse is giving rise to new forms of digital commerce, from gaming to collectibles to even real estate. This portfolio is designed by experts to help manage risk with the objective of delivering meaningful returns on this new digital ...

The Sustainable portfolio includes cryptocurrencies working towards reducing energy consumption and lowering carbon emissions as part of their usage. Compared to other cryptocurrencies, the coins in this portfolio either utilize less energy to validate transactions or are on a clear path to sustainable energy usage. This portfolio is expert-managed to help manage risk with the objective of delivering meaningful returns—while letting you invest in your values. To learn more, please visit this ...

The Decentralized Finance portfolio has greater exposure to crypto assets offering financial services without the need for banks or other centralized institutions. Also known as DeFi, these assets leverage blockchain technology to support peer-to-peer lending and borrowing, trading, and other financial transactions. This expert-built portfolio was created to help manage risk with the objective of delivering meaningful returns from some of crypto’s most innovative applications. To learn more, ...

To simplify the process of investing in crypto, we’ve created managed crypto portfolios. A managed portfolio in crypto works similarly to other forms of managed securities portfolios. Betterment manages the portfolios, automating things like selecting cryptocurrencies and opportunities for rebalancing to reduce your risk of overexposure to a single crypto asset. When choosing to invest in personalized crypto, Betterment offers 4 portfolio options. To read in-depth about these portfolios, please ...

Each crypto portfolio will have approximately 2% of its assets held in USD (cash). Betterment will use this as a buffer for various trading scenarios and will pull the monthly management fee from this portion of the portfolio to prevent unnecessary asset liquidation.   To learn more about Betterment’s fees, visit our FAQ.

Your assets are held with Gemini Trust Company, LLC, a digital asset exchange and crypto custodian. Gemini is a New York registered trust company and fiduciary subject to the capital reserve requirements, cybersecurity requirements, and banking compliance standards set forth by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and New York Banking Law. Investing in digital assets is highly speculative and volatile, and only suitable for investors who are able to bear the risk of ...

Betterment automatically uploads statements in PDF format on a monthly basis, typically within the first week of the month.  You can download monthly account statements by logging into your account from a web browser and selecting Documents from the menu. Custom Account Statements If you require a custom account summary for a specific timeframe, select +Generate account snapshot in the top corner. Please note that statements for 401(k) and crypto accounts cannot be generated through an account ...