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The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday rescinded its 2022 directive that had discouraged retirement plan fiduciaries from offering cryptocurrency as an investment option in 401(k) plans.<\/p>\n
The department is calling<\/a> the earlier guidance a deviation from established legal standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.<\/p>\n The Employee Benefits Security Administration issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01, which formally withdraws the 2022 release that instructed fiduciaries to exercise \u201cextreme care\u201d before considering crypto offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The department now says that language was inconsistent with ERISA<\/a> and represented a shift from its historically neutral approach to investment types.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Biden administration\u2019s Department of Labor made a choice to put their thumb on the scale,\u201d Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said<\/a> in a statement. \u201cWe\u2019re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 2022 guidance had warned that offering crypto in retirement plans could trigger regulatory scrutiny, and that fiduciaries should expect to be questioned on whether such options aligned with their duties of prudence and loyalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n It came amid broader concerns about the volatility and nascency of digital assets.<\/p>\n The Labor Department said it is reaffirming its \u201cneutral stance\u201d and will not take a position for or against fiduciaries who determine that cryptocurrency is appropriate for a plan\u2019s investment menu.<\/p>\nCrypto regulation in retirement plans<\/h2>\n