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Crypto 401(k) Rule Reaches the White House

Crypto 401(k) Rule Reaches the White House

Verified · 7 Nov 2026BitcoinNov 7, 2026

The US Labor Department's proposed rule allowing crypto in 401(k) plans is advancing through final White House regulatory review before publication.

The US Labor Department filed its proposed rule permitting cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans with the White House’s regulatory review office on 5 November, per The Block — review can take up to 90 days. The March text guides employers through six factors (performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks, complexity) and names no assets, per Cointelegraph; industry lawyers quoted there expect bitcoin and ether first, with options from 2027.

401(k) Rule: six boxes decide what counts

The rule everyone’s calling “crypto in your retirement account” never names a single coin. It hands employers a checklist: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks, complexity. Work through all six and you have a defence — not immunity — if someone sues you for adding an asset.

Run bitcoin through it and it passes. Ether passes. Industry lawyers quoted on the rule say almost everything else falls at “track record” or “reliable daily price” long before anyone argues about size.

So the door that supposedly opens to thousands of coins is really a filter that quietly funnels retirement money toward the big two. Not because Washington picked winners. Because the checklist did it for them.

And one more thing the rule doesn’t do: force anyone through the door. It permits. Employers decide. The earliest anyone expects real options is 2027 — through funds and ETFs, someone else’s wrapper, on someone else’s ledger.

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