Anthony Bertolino, VP of Growth at iTrustCapital – Interview Series

Anthony Bertolino is the VP of Growth at iTrustCapital, the world's largest crypto IRA and the #1 crypto and gold & silver IRA in the United States. Anthony has 10 years of cross-disciplinary experience in strategy, marketing and sales, combined with a desire to bring Crypto IRA accounts mainstream. He has been investing in the crypto industry for more than 5 years, with a heavy focus on Ethereum, decentralized finance, Web 3 and NFT's. An expert in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, Anthony studied Blockchain Technology at the University of California, Berkeley.

What initially attracted you to cryptocurrencies?

I always was attracted to the Gold Bug mindset of having investments that couldn’t be printed away by central bankers. Once I learned about Bitcoin’s digital scarcity and then Ethereum’s programmable money, I never looked back.

You studied Blockchain Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. What were some of your key takeaways from this experience?

It was an awesome experience that took my initial “self-study” approach much deeper. Digging into the various blockchain consensus mechanisms, game theory, crypto economics, governance, network attacks, scaling solutions and privacy solutions allowed me to expand my scope of knowledge substantially.

It’s worth noting that my self-study approach never stopped, and I continue to learn more and more with each passing year.

You’ve been investing in the space for over 5 years, what do you personally look for in investment opportunities?

Right now, it’s mostly looking at products that have clear value propositions, large total addressable markets (TAM) and then intelligently designed token economics. Most investors are still in the mindset of “cool name and price”, but those who dig deep are the ones with the real alpha.

Another huge thing I focus on is investing in products that I myself would use. For anyone that wants to seriously invest in the space, it’s a must to download MetaMask and actually start interacting with these amazing decentralized applications.

Could you share the genesis story behind iTrustCapital.com?

iTrustCapital was created due to the pain points of tax reporting and losing profits to taxes when investing in cryptocurrencies. Every time a person makes a trade, they have to ensure they track the profit/loss and then pay any taxes on the profits. This can get crazy for active users and traders. There had to be a better way and that was through pioneering the Crypto IRA industry with iTrustCapital.

Could you discuss what an IRA is and how it benefits investors?

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s) were invented by the government in the late 70’s in order to incentivize Americans to save for retirement. They provide tremendous tax sheltering benefits with limited downsides for investors that use them intelligently. They are truly groundbreaking for investors willing to take a few minutes and understand them.

Why is Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a solid option for an IRA?

There are two main reasons:

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are incredibly volatile. This means that prudent investors will occasionally want to take some profits in order to minimize their downsides. If you sell crypto for a profit outside of an IRA, you are locking in capital gains and will have to give up some profits to taxes. Crypto IRA’s allow you to trade tax-free. This is a huge game changer.

Over the long term, most high quality cryptocurrencies will have the ability to generate yield. For Bitcoin, that means lending it out to borrowers. For Ethereum and DeFi, that means staking it in the protocol. Any passive income / yield that is generated inside of an IRA does not trigger any income taxes. It’s basically treated the same as a trade, which is tax-free in an IRA.

How does iTrustCapital differentiate itself from other crypto IRA solutions?

We are basically leagues ahead of the competition on nearly every level. We have the lowest fees, the fastest trade execution, the best security and are constantly at the cutting edge of product releases. The main kicker is that we have an amazing customer experience team. Our clients talk to real experts who are US based and know their stuff.

What are the current investment options that are available at iTrustCapital?

The cryptocurrencies we offer are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Chainlink, Polkadot, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, Uniswap, Compound, Sushi, Yearn Finance, Polygon, Aave, Solana, Curve, Algorand, Enjin, Basic Attention Token, Cosmos, Tezos and Maker. This list will continue to grow overtime.

For precious metals, we offer physical Gold and Silver.

Is there anything else that you would like to share about iTrustCapital?

I would just suggest readers do some research and you’ll quickly see it likely can play an awesome role in your holistic financial plan. After reading through our website if anyone still has questions, schedule a free call with one of our client experience specialists and they will help clarify any unanswered questions!

Thanks for having me today, it was a pleasure speaking with you.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should read our iTrustCapital Review or visit iTrustCapital.