Coinbase Targets the $39 Trillion Retirement Market — and Wall Street Is Paying Attention

Through a new partnership with iTrustCapital, one of the largest digital asset IRA platforms, the exchange will now allow investors to buy, hold, and earn yield on crypto within their retirement accounts.

According to Coinbase Asset Management, the initiative targets millions of Americans seeking diversification as traditional 401(k)s struggle to keep up with inflation and market volatility.

The new offering, branded as a Bitcoin Yield Strategy for IRAs lets users allocate part of their tax-deferred savings into assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, generating passive yield while maintaining IRS compliance.

Why This Could Change Retirement Investing Forever

More than 67 million Americans hold IRAs, and roughly $1 out of every $3 in household financial assets is locked in retirement accounts. Yet very few investors have had access to crypto within these portfolios — until now.

The Coinbase-iTrustCapital model works by integrating secure custody through Coinbase Prime, combined with regulated trading and yield protocols inside iTrust’s platform.

This means investors can earn Bitcoin yield directly in tax-advantaged accounts, with institutional-grade security.

Crypto allocations in IRAs could grow rapidly:

• Fidelity now allows Bitcoin exposure in 401(k)s (up to 20% cap).
• BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF saw $18 billion in inflows since January 2025.

Over $400 billion in IRA funds could shift toward digital assets by 2030 if adoption continues at this pace.

How Other Financial Giants Are Responding

Coinbase’s move mirrors a growing institutional trend:

• Fidelity and Charles Schwab have expanded digital asset exposure in index-based retirement funds.
• Robinhood now integrates crypto options for self-directed IRAs.

BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink called tokenization “the next generation for markets.”

By stepping in early, Coinbase positions itself as the core infrastructure provider for this coming wave — blending AI, blockchain, and yield finance into the traditional wealth stack.

A small 3% shift of total U.S. retirement assets into crypto would represent over $1 trillion flowing into blockchain-based investments — enough to transform both Wall Street and DeFi ecosystems.