The US Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would make it significantly easier for employers to offer cryptocurrency and other alternative investments inside 401(k) retirement plans.
US Labor Department Clears Path for Crypto in Retirement Savings
30 March 2026 - 23:50 CEST
By Ana Pereira
The move could eventually redirect a portion of the roughly $13.8tn sitting in American workplace retirement accounts toward digital assets.
The proposal unveiled on 30 Mar establishes legal safe harbours for plan managers, known as fiduciaries, who want to include assets like Bitcoin (BTC), private equity and real estate funds in their investment line-ups. Fiduciaries have historically avoided doing so out of fear of being sued.
A safe harbour
The rule does not require any plan to add crypto. It sets out a checklist of due diligence steps that, if followed, would shield fiduciaries from litigation if alternative investments underperform.
Under existing law, offering cryptocurrency in a 401(k) has never been explicitly illegal. The problem has always been liability. Without a defined legal process to point to, plan managers faced personal exposure to lawsuits from participants if crypto positions lost value. The proposed rule is designed to remove that barrier.
"The department's days of picking winners and losers are over," said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. He added that the proposal is "neutral and refrains from saying that any asset class is any better or worse than other investment types."
The U-turn
The proposal is part of a sharp turnaround for crypto assets in US retirement plans.
In 2022, the Biden Labor Department issued guidance explicitly warning fiduciaries against including cryptocurrency in retirement plans. The guidance was rescinded in May 2025.
Today's rule implements a section of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in August last year, which directed federal agencies to expand retirement account access to alternative assets.
The publication of the rule opens a 60-day public comment period, after which the DOL will review responses before issuing a final version.
Opposition is expected
Consumer advocacy groups and banking industry organizations have historically argued that the volatility of cryptocurrency makes it incompatible with the long-term, capital-preservation purpose of retirement savings.
Bitcoin was trading at $66,600 at 20:42UTC, down 41% from its October 2025 peak.
