The investing platform Public announced on Thursday it has acquired the crypto business of Alto, a firm that lets users add alternative assets to their retirement accounts. The move is notable as relatively few firms let investors add crypto to their IRA directly amid ongoing uncertainty over how rules governing retirement accounts apply to crypto.
The deal saw New York-based Public pay $65 million in cash and stock for the crypto portion of Alto’s business, which contains roughly $600 million in assets under management. Alto is notable among the small number of crypto IRA providers for offering a wide range of crypto assets. Until recently, Fidelity, the only large brokerage that offers crypto retirement accounts, only let investors buy Bitcoin, but now offers Ethereum, Solana and Litecoin as well.
