US President Donald Trump is reportedly set to sign an executive order that could allow American 401(k) retirement plans to invest in alternative assets outside of stocks and bonds, such as cryptocurrencies.
The executive order could be signed sometime this week, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing three people who have been briefed on the plans.
The new 401(k) investment options could run across a broad spectrum of assets, including digital assets, metals and funds focused on infrastructure deals, corporate takeovers and private loans.
The executive order would instruct Washington regulatory agencies to investigate the best path forward for 401(k) plans to start investing in crypto, and investigate any remaining obstacles to making it a reality, according to the Financial Times.
Trump has the final say on whether it’s official
However, in a statement to Cointelegraph, White House spokesman Kush Desai said nothing should be deemed as official unless it comes from Trump himself.
“President Trump is committed to restoring prosperity for everyday Americans and safeguarding their economic future,” he said.
“No decisions should be deemed official, however, unless they come from President Trump himself.”
In May, the US Labor Department rescinded guidance issued during the Biden administration that limited the inclusion of cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement plans.
Meanwhile, in April, Cointelegraph reported that financial services company Fidelity, which has $5.9 trillion in assets under management, introduced a new retirement account allowing Americans to invest in crypto.
Standard 401(k) focuses on stocks and bonds
A 401(k) is a retirement savings plan offered by many US employers that allows employees to save and invest a portion of their paycheck in the funds before taxes are taken out.
Typically, investments focus on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks and bonds, depending on the plan. The 401(k) market held $8.9 trillion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2024, in more than 715,000 plans.
Related: 20% of Gen Z, Alpha sees crypto as retirement alternative: Report
At a state level, in March, North Carolina lawmakers already introduced bills in the House and Senate that could see the state’s treasurer allocate up to 5% of various state retirement funds into crypto like Bitcoin (BTC).
Other countries are looking at crypto in retirement plans
In November last year, the United Kingdom-based pension specialist Cartwright reported that an “unnamed scheme” had made a 3% allocation of Bitcoin into its pension fund.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund was also considering Bitcoin as a potential diversification tool in March of last year.
Magazine: Older investors are risking everything for a crypto-funded retirement
