Wall Street’s Latest Gamble: Crypto Creeps Into 401(k) Plans

Retirement accounts just got riskier—or more innovative, depending on who you ask. The U.S. greenlights crypto options in 401(k) plans, letting Main Street bet their golden years on digital volatility.

Boomers meet Bitcoin: The move sparks debate as traditional finance collides with decentralized assets. Critics warn of retirement ruin; evangelists hail it as overdue progress.

One thing’s certain: Wall Street always finds a way to repackage speculation as ’investment opportunities.’ Now with 20% more blockchain!

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has rescinded a 2022 compliance release that previously discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency options in 401(k) retirement plans.

The 2022 guidance directed plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before adding cryptocurrency to investment menus. This language deviated from the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and marked a departure from the department’s historically neutral, principled-based approach to fiduciary investment decisions.

“The Biden administration’s department of labor made a choice to put their thumb on the scale,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “We’re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats.”

By rescinding the 2022 guidance, the department reaffirms its neutral stance, neither endorsing, nor disapproving of, plan fiduciaries who conclude that the inclusion of cryptocurrency in a plan’s investment menu is appropriate.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

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— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) May 28, 2025