The Court’s Decision

A recent ruling by South Dakota District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier has brought forth a significant victory for Bitcoin IRA. On November 12, she ordered Kingdom Trust, the asset custodian caught in a legal bind, to restore full access to account data for its clients who were affected by the sudden termination of their rights to view their own information on Bitcoin IRA’s platform.

The Referral Agreement and Its Breach

In September 2018, Bitcoin IRA and Kingdom Trust joined forces through a referral agreement. Bitcoin IRA would funnel clients to Kingdom Trust, who, in return, would reward Bitcoin IRA with referral fees based on the clients they onboarded. Fast forward to August 2019, and things took a nosedive when Kingdom Trust decided to cut off Bitcoin IRA’s application programming interface (API) access. Talk about “you break it, you bought it!” But they didn’t even give Bitcoin IRA a heads-up!

The Judge’s Words

Judge Schreier highlighted how unjustified this chalked-up termination was, saying, “Kingdom Trust unilaterally terminated customers’ access to their own account data on Bitcoin IRA’s website, and it has not shown that the interference is justified.” So not only did they mess things up — they also had no solid reason for it! The court then made it crystal clear that Kingdom Trust had to:

• Fully restore to the condition and functionality existing prior to August 21, 2019, Bitcoin IRA’s access to account holder data.
• Reinstate account holder access to Bitcoin IRA’s online platform, allowing them to self-direct their retirement accounts anytime they desire.

The Ripple Effect in Crypto Retirement Planning

This legal spat unfolds against a backdrop of growing excitement around cryptocurrency retirement savings. With rising interest, investors are increasingly splashing their digital assets into the retirement pool. Just a day after this ruling, Kingdom Trust took a step to further expand its service offerings, partnering with crypto exchange Coinbase and investment firm Regal Assets to roll out new cryptocurrency-based individual retirement and 401(K) accounts.

Insights into Bitcoin IRA’s Evolution

Bitcoin IRA isn’t just dipping its toes into the crypto waters; they’ve been diving headfirst since 2016, processing a staggering $350 million in investments and welcoming around 4,000 clients into their fold. Their recent collaboration with Genesis Capital even allows investors to earn interest on their crypto and cash holdings. Who would have thought retirement could be this fun?