WHAT WE DO

BUYING

Buying bitcoin is very easy. There are several apps you can download to your phone such as Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken, and many more that will allow you to easily buy small amounts of bitcoin. Purchasing larger amounts of bitcoin is more complicated. Depending on your objectives and preferences, we will help guide you to the appropriate exchange for buying. Some of the factors to be considered in the decision are the exchange’s security protocol, lower spot prices and transaction fees, automated recurring buys and automatic withdrawal to a secure wallet.

We do not take a fee or a commission on any of your purchases, so our goal is to simply connect you the appropriate service. Since we have relationships with some of the larger exchanges, we can help make the onboarding process much easier and provide you with a representative that can answer your questions and “hold your hand” throughout the process.

SECURE STORAGE

Secure storage is one of the most critical aspects of owning bitcoin and where a poor decision could be very, very costly. There is a saying in the bitcoin world, “not your keys, not your coins”. This means that if your bitcoin is being stored by a third party such as CoinBase that you do not truly own your bitcoin. This can be thought of as “paper” bitcoin, because having a third party maintain custody allows someone other than you to control where your bitcoin goes. By controlling your own private keys, you have full control over your bitcoin. Our objective at Bitcoin Butlers is to help you design and implement a secure storage plan that will give you control over your bitcoin while minimizing the risk of loss.

The optimal way to securely store bitcoin is in “cold storage”. This means that your bitcoin is not stored online and therefore the ability of hackers or other bad actors to steal or spend your bitcoin is minimal. In our ideal setup, multiple keys are needed to “unlock” the ability to send your bitcoin. There is no perfect solution for storing your bitcoin, but there are many good ones. We will present you with options that meet your objectives, comfort level and technical ability. In other words, there may be a very secure storage solution, but if you are not capable of using it because it is too technically complicated then it is not a good fit for your needs.

It is critical to realize that if you make a mistake securing or sending your bitcoin, that there is no customer service number to call, and any errors you make are likely permanent and could result in the complete loss of your bitcoin. We understand that this can be intimidating, and our goal is to help reduce that worry by educating you and helping you to design a system of checks and balances to keep your bitcoin safe, secure and recoverable.

SELF-DIRECTED IRA

A self-directed IRA/LLC is a great way to hold bitcoin inside of a retirement account. We can assist you with the setup and funding of your self-directed IRA account and the formation of your LLC. Once that is complete, we will help you establish bank and exchange accounts. We can also assist with the buying and storage of your bitcoin.

INHERITANCE PLANNING

The inheritance piece of the bitcoin puzzle is perhaps the most complicated to execute. However, as a multi-generational asset, this can be an extremely important piece to put in place. You want to be sure that your bitcoin can be passed to your heirs, but the private nature of bitcoin makes it difficult for your heirs get to your bitcoin in the same way they could with a traditional bank or brokerage account. Accordingly, you should have a very robust plan in place that balances security and continuity. Any mistakes in this area could result in your heirs not receiving any of the digital assets in your estate. Fortunately, we have a number of solutions in this area and several of them involve an agent who can help your heirs get access to your funds.

If planned correctly, your estate and beneficiaries will have a clear and secure path to recover your bitcoin after you are gone.

Bitcoin is a very young asset class and getting a best practices game plan in places from scratch would likely take a minimum of 100 hours, and after that there is no guarantee you will actually do it correctly. Bitcoin Butlers charges a flat fee for each service that we provide, therefore there is no financial incentive to steer you in a direction that does not best match your goals.