Share this article
US Department of Labor Urges ‘Extreme Care’ Before Adding Crypto to 401(k) Plans
The department warned that cryptocurrency investments present “significant risks and challenges to participants’ retirement accounts.”
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:51 p.m. Published Mar 10, 2022, 9:42 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Labor is recommending 401(k) plan sponsors to “exercise extreme care” before they consider adding a cryptocurrency option to their investment menu for plan participants.
- The Labor Department said it has become aware in the last few months of firms marketing crypto investments to 401(k) plans as investment options, according to a statement Thursday.
- “At this early stage in the history of cryptocurrencies, the Department has serious concerns about the prudence of a fiduciary’s decision to expose a 401(k) plan’s participants to direct investments in cryptocurrencies, or other products whose value is tied to cryptocurrencies,” the Labor Department wrote.
- The Labor Department said crypto presents “significant risks and challenges to participants’ retirement accounts, including significant risks of fraud, theft and loss.” It highlighted as reasons speculation and volatility, challenges to making informed investment choices, custodial and record-keeping concerns, the lack of reliability of cryptocurrency valuations and an evolving regulatory environment.
- Consequently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) plans to “take appropriate action to protect the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries with respect to these investments,” according to the statement. Those actions would include questioning plan sponsors that offer crypto investments how they can handle the highlighted risks.
- U.S. President Joe Biden signed a first-of-its-kind executive order on cryptocurrencies on Wednesday, directing federal agencies to coordinate their approach to the sector.
- The “whole-of-government” effort to regulate the crypto industry focuses on consumer protection, financial stability, illicit uses, leadership in the global financial sector, financial inclusion and responsible innovation, according to a fact sheet accompanying the Biden order.
Read more: Biden Issues Long-Awaited US Executive Order on Crypto
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Senate confirms Trump crypto-friendly nominees to take over CFTC, FDIC
In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.
What to know:
- The U.S. Senate moved to confirm a massive package of President Donald Trump's nominees on Thursday, including two officials with important regulator roles over the crypto sector.
- The chamber approved the confirmations of Mike Selig to run the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Travis Hill to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
- Selig will have a leading role as a crypto watchdog, replacing Acting Chairman Caroline Pham, who has been pushing an aggressive crypto policy agenda in the absence of a permanent agency chief.
Top Stories
