Donald Trump Signs Order Letting Crypto Into 401(k) Retirement Plans
The post Donald Trump Signs Order Letting Crypto Into 401(k) Retirement Plans appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to allow crypto investments in 401(k) retirement plans, opening the gates for billions of dollars to flow into the asset class. The order, which also allows for private equity investments, is poised to dramatically widen the scope of what retirement plan providers can direct funds to. This in turn could help crypto prices while further integrating digital assets with the broader financial system. “Alternative assets, such as private equity, real estate, and digital assets, offer competitive returns and diversification benefits,” a fact sheet published Thursday said. While it was never technically prohibited to add crypto to a retirement plan, the Department of Labor previously put out guidance for fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care before they consider adding a cryptocurrency option to a 401(k) plan’s investment menu for plan participants.” In May, that guidance was fully rescinded. Trump’s order would now direct the DOL to publish new guidance which would put cryptocurrencies in the same bucket as other assets. This could encourage wealth managers, who previously stayed away from the risky asset class, to reconsider their positions, possibly bringing millions of dollars into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding bitcoin and other assets, or the cryptos directly. “This order isn’t about the government saying ‘crypto belongs in 401(k)s.’ It’s about the government getting out of the way and letting people make their own decisions,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise. The order comes as crypto assets have finished one of its best quarters to date, with many of them reaching new all-time highs in June amid several promising steps towards clearer regulation in the U.S. Bitcoin, which is currently trading at $117,351 and is up 26% year-to-date, has also been seeing its volatility shrink to levels not seen since 2023, signaling a…
