Labor Department Rescinds 2022 Guidance Discouraging Crypto in 401(k) Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration officially rescinded its 2022 compliance release that warned plan sponsors against offering cryptocurrency investment options in 401(k) retirement portfolios, according to a department announcement ¹. The rollback returns the agency to a neutral regulatory framework regarding retirement investment menus ¹.

Under the previous 2022 guidance, the agency instructed plan fiduciaries to exercise "extreme care" before introducing digital assets into retirement structures ¹. Labor officials noted that this prior language deviated from the statutory requirements outlined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, abandoning the department's standard principles-based standard for fiduciary investment choices ¹. U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer characterized the past measure as bureaucratic overreach that unduly influenced investment determinations ¹.

Shift to Fiduciary Neutrality

By invalidating the previous release, the regulatory agency restored a posture that neither promotes nor forbids fiduciaries from including digital assets in their retirement offerings ¹. The policy pivot follows earlier administrative steps reviewing retirement frameworks, including when a US 401(k) Proposal Advances to White House Review aimed at reshaping federal digital asset provisions.

Under the restored framework, plan administrators retain sole statutory responsibility for deciding whether digital assets suit their participants' needs under standard fiduciary duties ¹. At the time of writing, $BTC traded at $74,192 amid broader market consolidation. The Labor Department specified that future investment determinations must adhere strictly to established legal prudence guidelines without specific regulatory deterrents targeting the asset class ¹.