Gold-Backed Crypto IRA: The Ultimate Hedge Against Inflation in 2025

Introduction

Gold-Backed Crypto IRA. Now in a time of inflation increase, uncertainty in monetary policies and fluctuating world markets, there are a lot of investors who are in search of good hedges that will lead to safeguarding their wealth in the long run. Conventional resources such as stocks and bonds could fail in the conditions of currency debasement or very high monetary growth. Gold has been revered as a time tested inflation hedge. In the meantime, cryptocurrencies, in particular, Bitcoin, are becoming more and more considered to be digital gold or new solutions to hold on to purchasing power in an unpredictable world.

Imagine that you would have the inflation resistance capabilities of gold and the growth and flexibility and tax benefits of cryptocurrencies and retirement accounts? Introduce the idea of a gold-backed crypto IRA, occasionally imagining in the form of a fusion between a precious metals IRA and a crypto IRA.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• A gold-backed crypto IRA, what a brilliant concept it is and how different it is to more traditional structures.
• The reason why it is perceived by many as the ultimate hedge against inflation.
• The question of how to organize, how to operate and manage such accounts.
• Perils, difficulties, regulatory issues.
• Case studies and comparison of providers.
• Its comparison to Bitcoin IRA vs Traditional IRA and how it fits in the wider retirement environment.
• FAQs and key takeaways

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor or tax professional before making any decisions about retirement accounts, precious metals, or cryptocurrencies.

Background Concepts and Context

What is an IRA, self directed IRA and precious metal IRA?

An IRA is an investment in the US which is a tax-favored retirement plan. In the traditional IRA, one can make tax-deductible contributions (with limits) and tax-deferred growth; in the Roth IRA, one can make after-tax contributions but tax-free qualified withdrawals.

A Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) is an IRA, where you (as the investor) have a wider menu of other investment options than the usual stocks, bonds and mutual funds. That consists of real estate, private equity, commodities, precious metals and (in recent times) some cryptocurrencies.

A Precious Metals IRA (also known as Gold IRA or Gold-Backed IRA) is a SDIRA which specifically invests in physical bullion or coins made of IRS-approved precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium), under custodian and depository regulations.

The metals are limited to specific types and specific degrees of purity. Indicatively, the amount of gold in such an IRA has to be of a minimum fineness and it cannot be in the form of jewelry or collectible coin. (Directed IRA)

In simple IRA in gold, the account contains physical gold (or other accepted metal). The owner is not allowed to hold it personally, but by a qualified custodian, and in a qualified depository or vault.

What Does Crypto IRA (or Bitcoin IRA) Mean?

A Crypto IRA (also known as Bitcoin IRA) is a self-directed IRA model that may include the cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and some others) in the retirement portfolio (as a part or the entirety of the assets). These are rather new and more complicated in terms of custody, security, and control.

Cryptocurrency IRAs have functions:

• They take advantage of IRA tax benefits (tax-deferred investment in a Traditional IRA, or tax-free investment in a Roth IRA, based on the structure).
• They need the custodians or specialized companies, which will combine crypto exchanges, wallets, and custody to manage the assets.
• In most cases, they contain cryptographic custody (cold storage, key management, insurance) to protect the digital assets.

Certain crypto IRA services even permit investments in tokenized assets such as PAX Gold (PAXG) a token that is a representation of physical ownership of gold in a vault. (Bitcoin IRA)

Therefore, crypto IRA can, in a way, be an exposure to both crypto and gold in a regulated retirement vehicle.

Why combine Gold + Crypto in a new IRA Structure?

The main idea of the gold-backed crypto IRA is that two existing and time-tested inflation-resistant asset categories gold as a classical safe haven and crypto (or more specifically Bitcoin) as a contemporary and high-growth hedge would be combined into a single tax-beneficial asset. There are driving reasons, which are:

• Dual-hedge: It is common to find gold to appreciate (or at least have value) in case the fiat currency loses strength; crypto has the strong characteristics of upside and scarcity.
• Diversification: Minimizes equity, bond or fiat concentration risk.
• Tax benefit: In the IRA, gains grow tax-deferred or tax-free (depending on type of IRA).
• Flexibility: The possibility of changing the decisions on the allocations of gold, crypto, and tokenized assets.
• Inflation protection: This is considered by almost all proponents as a high inflation hedge.

Most followers view this as a final hedge against inflation because it is a combination of the trustworthiness of gold and the asymmetric potential of a crypto.

To take it a step further, it is vital to comprehend how the structure operates, legal and regulatory limitations, and operational issues.

Introduction to a Gold-Backed Crypto IRA

Structural Models

No single template has been developed yet, but some architectural templates are beginning to develop:

Model A: Traditional Gold IRA Crypto Overlay

• The IRA consists of the main physical gold that is held through a qualified custodian and a depository.
• Individually, a section of the IRA is assigned to cryptocurrencies through the same or a different custodian.
• You are essentially having a hybrid portfolio in your IRA: gold + crypto.

This is operationally a hybrid SDIRA, and not a complete “gold-backed crypto instrument, yet it does the same diversification objective.

Model B: Cryptocurrency Gold in a Crypto IRA

• Trade tokenized gold assets (such as PAXG or similar tokens) which are a claim to physical gold in the vaults.
• These gold tokens are represented as tokens that are stored in a crypto IRA together with other cryptos.
• The token can be traded in real physical gold (to qualified investors), and the physical gold is placed in the vaults.
• This will eliminate the complexities of holding physical gold in the IRA, but offering the same level of exposure.

An example is BitcoinIRA which provides the option to invest in PAX Gold (PAXG) in a crypto IRA.

Model C: Fully Integrated Gold-Backed Crypto IRA Product

• A product, consisting of a retirement offered by a specialized provider that automatically manages custody, allocations, vaulting, tokenization, and distribution, the central strategy of which is gold-backed crypto.
• It is a more futuristic and rare model that can be considered by niche fintechs.

In our case, Model A or Model B will be adopted by most investors.

Vaults, Custodians and storage

Custody is one of the main issues in the process of integrating gold and crypto into an IRA. According to the IRS rules, IRA cannot allow the investor to hold assets personally (no in-your-closet holding). IRA assets should all be deposited with an approved depository and the physical metals kept with an approved custodian or trustee.

Some key points:

• The custodian or trustee is required to bear crypto and precious metal resources (or liaise with a partner).
• The vault/depository should be of high security, insurance and regulatory requirements.
• In the case of tokenized gold (PAXG, etc.), the actual physical gold goes to vaults by trusted parties (e.g. Brink s, LBMA vaults) and token custody is managed through blockchain.
• Crypto custody requires cold-storage which is secure, multi-sign wallets, hardware wallet, key recovery, insurance and auditing.

Most crypto IRA providers have gone into cooperation with institutional custody providers. As an example, certain providers allow self-custody by handing over keys to the investor (but this is against the conventional IRA custody regulations, and hence hybrid arrangements emerge). (Unchained)

Purities, Standards and IRS Compliance of Precious Metals

All types of gold are not permitted by the Gold IRA or precious-metal IRA.

The IRS has restrictions:

• Metals should be of minimum fineness (e.g. gold is 99.5% purity or more).
• Allowed items are some bullion bars and coins- not jewelry and collectibles.
• The gold should be kept in depositories that are approved by the IRS, and this should be physically separated.
• The IRA structure should be in accordance to all IRA regulations (distribution regulations, limit of contribution, penalty of early withdrawal, etc.)

Therefore, the combination of a crypto IRA and gold, i.e. gold-backed crypto IRA, should be made in such a way that exposure to gold is regulated by the IRS and that there are custody and accounting and audit trails.

Conversion Mechanisms (Gold ↔ Token ↔ Crypto)

Since you may wish to switch between allocations (e.g. trying to liquidate some gold exposure and buy more Bitcoin or the other way round), you will require mechanisms in the IRA:

• The case of Physical Gold – Tokenized Gold: A number of vault operators or tokenization providers will mint tokens (e.g., PAXG) over physical gold, which will increase its liquidity and tradeability.
• In the case of Tokenized Gold – Crypto: Being traded on blockchain exchanges, tokenized gold allows one to convert PAXG with other digital currencies in a crypto IRA.
• In the case of Crypto – Physical Gold: In this type of structure, the investors will be able to redeem the tokenized gold into real physical gold (where allowed) but will maintain it in a vault but within the limits of the IRA.
• In the case of Physical Gold – Crypto through Sale/Purchase: The custodian can sell bullion, accept cash and trade crypto. However, this includes transaction costs, taxable events have to be avoided (under the IRA structure), and proper record-keeping.

This liquidity is the key to the attraction of a gold backed crypto IRA.

Why Gold-Backed Crypto IRA Can Be Considered as the Ultimate Hedge against Inflation

Properties of Gold as an Inflation Hedge

Gold has been used as a medium of exchange since time immemorial. Its inflation hedging is because of:

• Limited supply: Gold mining is expensive and limited and hence, the growth in supply is rather slow.
• Trust intrinsic: Gold is a universal commodity and it does not rely on a promise by a government.
• Inverse correlation: During the history of the world, gold has kept pace with or kept purchasing power in the event of a currency devaluation.

Nonetheless, gold is not an ideal hedge, it is prone to volatility, and returns are small, compared to equities in long durations. Some state that the returns of gold are poor at some times. (altoira.com)

This provides a steady base in the case of a Gold IRA.

The nature of Crypto (Particularly Bitcoin) as a new hedge

In its turn, crypto (and especially Bitcoin) provides:

• By design, scarcity: Bitcoin is an anti-inflationary protocol, with a fixed supply (21 million coins).
• Large growth potential: Bitcoin has historically had significant returns (with equal volatility).
• Computer-based, non-geographical, censored: Crypto, unlike gold, is easy to transfer and program.
• Network effects: The more it gets adopted, financially interested in the institution, DeFi, and financial infrastructure, the better the value proposition of Bitcoin might become over the next few years.

Most advocates, therefore, refer to Bitcoin as digital gold. (altoira.com)

Nevertheless, cryptos and Bitcoin are volatile, and there are still regulatory risks, security risks, and adoption risks.

Synergy: Reason the Combination is Appealing

Through the purchase of gold and crypto in a retirement plan:

• You strike a balance between stability + upside: the mediation is that of Gold giving ballast, and Crypto giving options.
• During inflation, gold can be the leader, and crypto can take on the speculative gains.
• In case of fiat erosion, a less correlated two asset systemic risk is less risky.
• The IRA wrapper is tax efficient in the accumulation of gains protecting you against taxation on capital gains when trading (within IRA regulations).

Since both gold and crypto can also be expanding in response to the same reasons, namely, high inflation or monetary expansion, both structures are occasionally called the ultimate hedge against inflation due to their hybrid composition.

Comparative Risk-reward profile

• Gold: low volatility, low stability, low returns.
• Crypto: better returns, more volatility, more binary upside.
• Hybrid (Gold + Crypto in IRA): the idea is to minimize the variance and still have an upside – smooth sailing.

In normal markets, it is possible that traditional assets (equities, bonds) outperform but the hedge allows to cover the tail risks.

Altogether, gold-backed crypto IRAs are supposed to provide capital protection, inflation protection, and asymmetric upside within a tax-advantaged platform.

Implementation: How to create and operate a Gold-Backed Crypto IRA

Preliminary Steps & Planning

1. Decide how you are going to allocate it.
   Determine the percentage to be given to gold and crypto.
   As an example, a conservative investor will consider 30 gold, 70 crypto; a more conservative will be 50/50 or even 70/30.
2. Select the type of IRA (Traditional vs Roth vs SEP)
   • Traditional IRA: the contributions can be tax-deductible; the withdrawals are taxed in the future.
   • Roth IRA: taxed in the after-tax but not in qualified withdrawal.
   • The option has an effect on tax timing; read further in your article on Bitcoin IRA vs Traditional IRA.
   • And another one is to verify the presence of contributions/rollovers of non-crypto assets within your jurisdiction.
3. Choose a custodian or IRA vendor that accepts crypto and gold.
   You will require either a provider or partnership that will be able to support:
   • Vaulting/custody of precious metals (depository).
   • Crypto storage (wallet, exchange, security).
   • Co-ordination between the two parties.
4. Open and fund the IRA
   It may be through rollover (e.g. 401(k), traditional IRA) or through direct contributions (depending on eligibility).
5. State gold acquisition / tokens / crypto acquisition.
   • In the case of gold: refer to what kind of bullion or coins or bars or tokenized gold.
   • In the case of crypto: indicate what digital assets (BTC, ETH, altcoins, tokenized gold such as PAXG).
6. Coordinating, accounting, auditing.
   Bring about conformity and auditing and reporting by the custodian.
   

Custodian and Provider Evaluation

The Evaluation must be performed by a qualified healthcare professional on a regular basis (not less than once per year).

In choosing a provider, you need to consider:

• Security measures (vaults, cold storage, multisig, key recovery)
• Insurance coverage Charges (custodial charges, transaction charges, storage charges)
• Asset liquidity (what cryptos, what types of tokens, what types of gold)
• Fluidity and trade freedom within the IRA.
• Transparency and third party audit.
• Trust, reputation and regulatory compliance.
• Provider Comparisons and Reviews Check

Check Best Bitcoin IRA Companies article to compare and review providers.

Gold Acquisition and Compliance

• Select gold products (bullion bars, some coins) which are approved by the IRS and which are of the required level of purity/fineness.
• Contract with gold dealers dealing in IRA eligible precious metals.
• Custodians will have to deal with the delivery to depository vaults.
• Provide safe storage and insured storage.

Crypto Acquisition & Custody

• Trade approved crypto exchanges that are connected with your IRA company.
• Cold storage or institutional specialized custody ideally should be used in custody.
• Key Handling Handling keys (multisig, hardware wallets, key recovery plan).
• Understand how to redeem or trade such tokens as PAXG or trade between gold and other cryptos.

Rebalancing, Conversions, and Flexibility

• Rebalance gold with crypto periodically with target allocations.
• Speedily transfer blockchain assets by using tokenized gold(e.g., PAXG).
• Any distributions that are taxable should be avoided by retaining all the trading within the IRA framework.
• Keep transaction records, valuations, custodial records as a compliance measure.

Withdrawal & Distribution Rules

• The common IRA regulations can be used: penalties against early withdrawals (before 591/2 years of age), obligatory minimum distributions (in the case of Traditional IRAs) and so on.
• Distribution of physical gold or tokens has to be done with care. In case of taking physical gold, then has to comply with the IRS regulations regarding liquidation, shipping and taxes.
• Talk to a crypto + precious metals tax advisor.

Regulatory, Tax & Legal Issues

IRS and U.S. Regulation

• The IRS also sets regulations of IRA such as the amount of contributions, withdrawals, penalties.
• Precious metals in IRA are subject to the regulations of permitted metals, depositories and custodians.
• Cryptos in IRA should comply with the IRS regulations of digital assets.
• Certain crypto transfer may also be done in-kind or the transfer may be in the form of a custodial system in which the transfer is made by the IRA provider.
• The tokenized gold (such as PAXG) should meet the securities, commodity or token laws.
• There are also custodial and anti-money-laundering laws.
• In case a provider permits self-custody (i.e. the keys being held by the investor), it must not contravene the rules of IRA custodial.

Tax Treatment & Advantages

• Traditional gold-backed crypto IRA: is tax-deferred on all the growth. When you withdraw you pay taxes.
• In a Roth account: the growth would be tax free (with qualified distribution requirements).
• The benefit is you do not pay the capital gains tax each time you transact within the IRA.
• Note: IRA disbursement (when Roth or Traditional) can be subject to regulations, limits and fines.
• Watch out about forbade dealings or self-dealing within an IRA.

Risk & Compliance Challenges

• Custodial risk: custodian failure, insurance gaps, fraud. Gold valuation issues (particularly in the bullion)
• Regulatory changes: crypto regulation/tax changes.
• Liquidity risks: It might be time consuming to convert physical gold to cash within IRA.
• Audit traps: lack of proper records, metals that are not as expected, wrong transactions.
• Exposure risk: crypto may cause volatility in case of excess exposure.
• Foreign jurisdiction risk (in case the provider or vault is not located in the U.S.)

Cross-Jurisdiction & International Issues

Some of these rules do not necessarily apply, or there may be other restrictions, in the case you are not in the U.S. or in other jurisdictions:

• Local taxation of IRAs, crypto and gold.
• Export/import control on precious metals.
• Cryptocurrency IRAs acceptance by regulators.
• In your country or across the border vaulting Custodians.
• Custodians in your country or abroad vaulting Custodians Currency risk (where your IRA is in USD, but your expenses are in the local currency)

Always seek the advice of legal and tax specialists with whom you are familiar.

Comparison of Alternatives and Trade-offs

Gold IRA vs Crypto IRA vs Gold-Backed Crypto IRA

The Gold-backed Crypto IRA is either more secure or it is pure and has less potential. A pure Crypto IRA is a high growth with high risk. The hybrid aims at attracting both.

Bitcoin IRA vs Traditional IRA

The problem of Bitcoin IRA vs Traditional IRA structures can be an ongoing debate within the framework of crypto IRAs. The attached article explores tax, withdrawal, and strategic implications.

Here’s a brief recap:

• Traditional (or Traditional Crypto/Gold IRA): investments can be made to lower your present taxable earnings; retirement taxed subsequently.
• Roth (or Roth Crypto/Gold IRA): after tax funds are deposited, the withdrawals are tax-exempt provided that they are taken according to the rules.
• The trade off is present-day tax benefits as against future tax free withdrawals.

When it comes to a gold-based crypto IRA, you have to choose between Traditional and Roth, with regard to your tax position and future growth projections.

Digital Gold, Gold Stocks, and ETFs: Alternative Vehicles

In case an all gold-backed crypto IRA is too complicated or closed off, one may use:

• Gold ETFs or gold mutual funds: simple to operate but not physically supported.
• Cryptocurrency ETFs (where permitted): investment in digital assets without direct ownership.
• Gold tokenized outside of IRA wrappers.
• Gold mining shares or companies that are exposed to gold.
• Separate crypto and gold holdings out of IRA but in a balanced portfolio.

Nevertheless, all these options tend to lose tax benefits or full exposure benefits associated with an integrated IRA.

Case Studies, Examples & Simulations

Example Scenario

Suppose you have $100,000 in an IRA. You decide to allocate:

• 40 percent to physical gold (through physical bullion in vault)
• 60 percent to crypto (Bitcoin, Ethereum, tokenized gold)

Over 10 years, suppose:

• Average returns in gold are 4% per year.
• Cryptos have an average of 15 percent a year returns (volatile).

As a result of rebalancing once a year, your hybrid portfolio would most probably outperform the results of pure gold, and the volatility would be lower than that of pure crypto.

PAX Gold-Backed Crypto IRA (Example)

BitcoinIRA allows the investment in PAX Gold (PAXG) into a crypto IRA.

Key Features:

• PAXG is supported entirely by solid gold (1 troy oz per token).
• Physical gold is redeemable (in some circumstances).
• Stored in vaults (e.g., Brink’s).
• Intra-IRA conversions are easier with token trading liquidity.

Therefore, PAXG provides the connection between pure crypto holdings and the physical gold in a crypto IRA.

Provider Comparisons

Based on external reviews:

• The publications of Investopedia in the category of the best Bitcoin IRA Companies use major offerings such as Alto IRA, iTrustCapital, Bitcoin IRA, BitIRA, and so on (Investopedia).
• Business Insider says that the strength of BitcoinIRA lies in beginning with a novice with 75 or more accepted cryptos, and 24/7 trading. (Business Insider)
• The information about crypto IRAs by Koinly covers provider, fees, assets permitted, and tradeoffs. (Koinly)

In considering them as gold-backed crypto IRA, consider in particular whether they support tokenized gold holdings and whether their custodial framework supports dual gold + crypto holdings.

Risks, Challenges and What to Beware of

Volatility & Drawdowns

Crypto is prone to massive drawdowns. Temporal price drops can be seen even with gold. Together, you can continue to lose heavily in unfavorable situations with your portfolio.

Custody Breakdowns and Hackings

Mistakes or failures in the gold vault, or in crypto custody (e.g. hacking, key loss) can result in permanent losses: dual custody risk is greater.

Regulatory & Tax Shocks

The change in the regulation of crypto taxation or IRS decisions on the tokenized assets or the altation of IRA regulation may have effects on your strategy.

Liquidity Constraints

Liquidation of the gold in a physical form within an IRA can be time consuming and it might even attract premium/discounts. It might be useful, not necessarily flawless, with tokenized assets.

Mispricing, Premiums, Spreads

Gold dealers or bricks may also impose premiums or spreads on tokenized gold. Slippage and crypto trading fees are also an added cost.

Compliance Risks and Audit Exposure

In case an IRA is audited and the custodian, records, or holdings are not regular, one might be subject to penalties, disallowed transaction, or tax consequences.

The company is exposed to overleverage or overconcentration

Don’t overcommit. Moonshot crypto allocation will wipe off profit when the trend is unfavorable. The gold buffer should not be insufficient.

Best Practices, Tips & Checklist on Implementation

The following are practical recommendations that can be used to accomplish maximum success and reduce risk:

1. Start with conservative allocations (e.g. 20–40% crypto, rest in gold)
2. Choose custodians with strong track record in both gold and crypto
3. Insist on audited vaults and cryptographic proofs
4. Use tokenized gold assets (like PAXG) where possible to ease liquidity
5. Rebalance periodically (quarterly or annually)
6. Maintain clean and transparent records
7. Stay up to date on regulatory developments in crypto and precious metals IRAs
8. Avoid high-premium coins or exotic bars not IRS-approved
9. Diversify crypto holdings (not just Bitcoin)
10. Consult tax professionals for withdrawal planning
11. Use partial allocations gradually rather than “all in”
12. Include exit strategies (when to convert to cash or take distributions)

Conclusion

A gold-backed crypto IRA is a radical combination of two potent inflation-resilient asset types, including physical gold and cryptocurrencies, arranged inside a tax-favored IRA. Once it is implemented with caution, it can provide:

• Gold conservation through gold.
• Cryptocurrency upside asymmetry.
• Hedging against inflation through two-fold strength.
• Tax-efficiency through IRA benefits.

However, there is no simple and risk-free method to this strategy: custody, compliance, security, liquidity and volatility require advanced planning. Begin small, pick the good custodians, remain within the limits of regulations, and repeat your strategy in time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does the IRS make a gold-backed crypto IRA legal now?
   Yes, with caveats. Although both traditional and crypto IRAs both have precedent, the use of tokenized gold within a crypto IRA is a new concept. Provided that the gold element complies with the IRS specifications (purity, depository storage and custodial supervision) and the crypto element with the IRA specifications, the crypto-gold can be legal. Always check with your custodian and tax consultant.
2. Is it possible to have both physical gold and cryptocurrencies in the same IRA?
   Yes, either through a self-directed IRA which funds both asset classes or through a number of sub-accounts with the same custodian. The point is that all the holdings should be in accordance with the IRA custody or storage regulations.
3. What is PAX Gold (PAXG) and what is its significance?
   PAXG is an asset that is pegged to gold, which is in the form of physical gold stored in vaults (e.g., as agreed upon by LBMA-accredited vaults) and can be redeemed to physical gold. It is a solution linking the digital liquidity and the actual gold exposure. There are crypto IRA companies which permit PAXG to be stored within the IRA.
4. Are there minimums and fees?
   Yes – custodians are charged set up, storage, transaction and trading fees. Cryptos involve exchange and gases fees. The gold vaulting involves storage and insurance expenses. You should compare the providers through your internal link of Best Bitcoin IRA Companies.
5. How often should I rebalance?
   Rebalancing is a common practice of quarterly or annual rebalancing. The idea is to have your preferred ratio between gold and crypto. To limit the complexity of the fees and taxation, avoid excessive trading.
6. At withdrawal/retirement, what happens?
   Standard IRA rules apply. In the case of gold, you might be required to liquidate tangible assets or allocate gold pursuant to the regulations of the IRS. With crypto, you will either change to cash or move to a third party wallet (where you are allowed). Distribution mechanics Consult your custodian.
7. How risky is this strategy?
   The plan is inherently more complex and risky as compared to the traditional IRAs. Some of the risks are volatility, custody/breach risk, regulatory changes, liquidity limitations, and operational challenges. Mitigation of risk is achieved through diversification and conservative allocations.
8. What is the comparison between this strategy and either a crypto-only IRA or a gold-only IRA?
   Gold-only IRA is more stable and less upward. Crypto-only IRA is prone to greater upside but greater volatility. The hybrid strategy is aimed at walking the fine line: stay value-oriented and reap the rewards.
9. Is it possible to add any other assets (real property, stocks) in the same IRA?
   Yes, you can have a variety of different types of assets in a self-directed IRA as long as your custodian is supportive. However, watch out of complexity, diversification risk and compliance.
10. What needs to be the first thing that I need to do in order to implement this?
    Get a tax or retirement planner to start with, research custodians to support both gold and crypto, determine the target allocation, and open a self-directed IRA. Direct the selection with help of internal sources such as your main guide and provider reviews.

The content above is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice. You should consult a qualified professional to evaluate your specific situation and compliance with all applicable laws before engaging with gold-backed crypto IRAs or any retirement investment strategy.