It has been a long time since the average American saving for retirement in a 401(k) has been limited to investments like stocks and bonds, while wealthy investors and large institutions are investing freely in various investment products such as private equity, real estate, and Bitcoin. However, this loophole was fixed as U.S. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14330 on August 7, 2025. The executive order sought to reduce regulatory and legal barriers that discouraged many 401(k) fiduciaries from offering alternative assets.
The executive order is expected to reduce regulatory burdens and legal risks that have limited plan fiduciaries willingness to provide alternative assets. The list of alternative assets includes private market investments, real estate, digital assets (such as Bitcoin funds), commodities, etc.
However, this executive order does not directly add Bitcoin or other assets to all 401(k) plans. Instead of that, it is creating a change in the regulatory stance to give more choices to retirement savers. After US President Trump signed this executive order, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new proposal in March 2026 in order to create a clear “safe harbor” process for plan fiduciaries to follow. This is expected to cut down the legal process when they decide to include other alternative assets in 401(k) plans. This proposal is still open for comments from the public, and it is expected to be finalized by the end of 2026.
What the Executive Order Actually Says
On August 7, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14330. According to the official document, the order clearly mentions that “every American preparing for retirement should have access to funds that include investments in alternative assets when the relevant plan fiduciary determines that such access provides an appropriate opportunity for plan participants and beneficiaries to enhance the net risk-adjusted returns on their retirement assets.”
In this executive order, the President has also shared the names of alternative assets. The list includes:
- Private market investments, which include equity, debt, or other financial instruments that are not traded on public exchanges.
- Direct and indirect interest in real estate, including real estate debt.
- Commodities
- Infrastructure development projects.
- Lifetime income strategies.
- Money is placed in actively managed funds that invest in digital assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
The main focus of this EO is to implement the new directives provided by pro-crypto President Donald Trump. The Department of Labor has been ordered to complete specific actions in a 180-day period in order to expand 401(k) investment choices. To do this, they have to re-examine their existing ERISA fiduciary guidance on asset allocation funds that can include alternative assets.
One of the major goals of the review is to reconsider or to withdraw prior guidance viewed as discouraging alternative-asset exposure.
Apart from this, the Department is expected to create a draft and introduce guidance with clear rules or formal guidance on the same matter. For example, the EO is directing regulators to create safe harbors in order to reduce the fear of legal actions.
Following the executive order, the Department of Labor began implementing several policy changes. In the first major action, it has suspended the 2022 cryptocurrency guidance CAR 2022-01, which was issued under the Biden administration. It also withdrew the 2021 private equity supplement statement.
Can You Hold Bitcoin in Your 401(k) Right Now?
The direct answer is no, as you can not directly hold Bitcoin in 401(k) plans. However, there are some plans that allow indirect exposure through brokerage windows, Bitcoin ETFs, or digital-asset investment options.
In 2025, the Department of Labor withdrew its 2022 crypto warning, which was a major hurdle for plans to stay away from crypto-based alternatives. It has opened a door for plans to provide Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs, actively managed digital asset funds, or other crypto products. Some major plan providers are working on integrating these crypto-based alternatives. However, there is still an influence of the main rules of ERISA.
Many major 401(k) plan providers, including Fidelity, are allowing employers to provide a Self-Directed Brokerage Account (SDBA). If your plan has integrated these options, you can use it to invest in approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds such as IBIT, FBTC, or GBTC.
Benefits of Crypto in 401(k) Plans
One of the biggest purposes behind the Executive Order is that it could open a door for people to save more money for retirement by allowing them to diversify their investments across a large number of assets in order to earn high returns over time.
The addition of cryptocurrency to 401(k) retirement plans will help people get balanced returns as crypto assets move in very different directions than stocks and bonds. This can help people to maintain balance in their portfolio and increase the chance of better returns during a bull cycle in the crypto market.
Risks of Crypto Assets in 401(k) Plans
While there are numerous benefits of crypto assets in 401(k) plans, there are also some risks linked with them. This is mainly right for people who are connected to retirement and need their savings to get a better return. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile digital assets. For example, in the recent crash in the crypto market, BTC dropped by more than 50% from its peak.
On the other hand, private equity and real estate investments may be difficult to value accurately and can be less liquid than publicly traded securities.
What Happens Next?
Even though Executive Order 14330 has paved the way for more extensive access to alternative investments in retirement portfolios, several regulatory initiatives must occur before these provisions can be made available. The proposal by the Department of Labor for its safe harbor guidelines is currently under public comment period and could go through further changes.
After finalizing the guidelines, retirement plan sponsors and employers will then have to determine if the inclusion of alternative assets like private equity, real estate, and digital assets fund would be a fit for their plans. In this case, it is expected that larger plans will first analyze the advantages provided by alternative assets, whereas smaller retirement plans might take a slower approach due to increased compliance costs and investment oversight responsibilities.
With all of this, it seems that the introduction of alternative investments in retirement plans like 401(k) programs will not happen overnight but gradually. Nevertheless, if all proposed regulatory changes come to fruition, the availability of these investments could improve.
Conclusion
Amid the positive regulatory developments under U.S. President Donald Trump, the crypto sector is slowly getting mainstream adoption. Executive Order 14330 is creating a major policy change by giving a 401(k) plan the ability to include more alternative assets, including digital assets like Bitcoin. By giving orders to the Labor Department and the SEC to reduce regulatory hurdles, these new changes will open the door for millions of Americans to get exposure to cryptocurrencies indirectly.
