Source publication time: November 7, 2026, at 04:04:27 UTC+08:00.
Status at publication: Proposed rule under White House review—not a finalized rule or a confirmed launch of crypto options in retirement plans.
A proposed US Labor Department rule could make it easier for 401(k) retirement plans to offer cryptocurrency and other alternative investments while giving employers and plan managers greater legal protection. Smaller cryptocurrencies are not explicitly excluded, but experts cited by Cointelegraph said they would face greater practical hurdles than Bitcoin and Ether.
Timeline: proposal, review and possible adoption
- March: The Labor Department proposed the rule. It names no eligible digital assets and sets no minimum market capitalization. Instead, it directs plan managers to assess six factors: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks and complexity.
- Thursday before publication: The proposal reached the White House for final review, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. That review did not mean the rule had been finalized or that any retirement plan would offer crypto.
- Review and implementation: Bernardo Brites, co-founder and CEO of Trace Finance, said White House review could take up to 90 days, followed by publication and an effective date typically 60 days later. These were timing expectations, not confirmed implementation dates.
- 2027–2028: Brites expected some crypto investment options to become available in 2027, with ETFs at larger employers later that year and broader availability in retirement funds by 2028. These were his forecasts, not an official rollout schedule.
Smaller tokens are not barred, but suitability remains the test
Teresa Goody Guillén, managing partner at Bellementis PLLC, said Bitcoin and Ether would likely be offered first because they have established markets and investment products. According to CoinGecko data cited in the report, their market capitalizations were approximately $1.5 trillion and $273 billion, respectively, as of 20:01 UTC on November 6.
Guillén said that did not automatically exclude altcoins. Plan managers would need to demonstrate that their choices met standards of prudence, liquidity, valuation and investor protection. Market size mattered, she said, but should not determine suitability on its own: “Big doesn’t mean suitable, and small doesn’t mean disqualified.”
Brites took a more restrictive view. In his assessment, Bitcoin and Ether met the proposed tests, while other tokens would fail on track record or benchmarks before market capitalization became decisive. He said a practical requirement would be whether a plan committee could document a reliable daily price through a regulated investment wrapper.
Funds could precede direct holdings
The proposal does not restrict crypto exposure to exchange-traded funds or managed funds. Nevertheless, Guillén expected those products to come first because they fit existing custody and recordkeeping systems. Direct holdings would introduce additional storage, cybersecurity and pricing concerns, though she said those risks should not automatically disqualify them.
Brites expected a gradual sequence: existing brokerage options first, followed by standalone ETFs and funds with small crypto allocations. As he put it, “The rule changes the legal risk, not the plumbing, and the plumbing is slower.”
Legal protection would not eliminate uncertainty
Brites said the proposal would offer plan managers some protection from lawsuits, but would not prevent challenges to their investment decisions. He also warned that a future administration could reverse the rule, potentially discouraging employers from adding crypto to long-term retirement plans.
He pointed to the reversal of 2022 guidance in 2025 and said the weight courts would give the proposed safe harbor remained unsettled as courts gave agencies less deference.
The key distinction at publication was between permission and adoption: the proposal could broaden access, but neither final approval nor the inclusion of any particular cryptocurrency was guaranteed.