President Donald Trump will reportedly sign an executive order on Thursday allowing 401(k) retirement plans to include alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate, according to a Bloomberg News report.
The order will reportedly instruct the US Secretary of Labor to review fiduciary guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a regulatory shift that could significantly broaden the investment landscape for America’s $12.5 trillion defined-contribution retirement system.
This policy change is being hailed as a win for private asset managers and crypto firms, many of which have long pushed for broader access to 401(k) plans.
It also represents a revival and expansion of Trump-era 2020 guidance, which allowed limited inclusion of private market assets in retirement plans, a position rolled back during the Biden administration.
While 401(k)s have traditionally been limited to publicly traded stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, the new order could usher in access to a range of higher-risk, less liquid investments.
Firms like BlackRock and Empower have already introduced retirement products with exposure to private equity.
Following the report, Bitcoin gained 1%, Ethereum rose 3.6%, while crypto-exposed trading platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood climbed 2.5% and 4.4%, respectively.