A pen stroke at the White House could change what sits inside millions of American 401(k)s. President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order opening the door to Bitcoin ETFs and other private assets in workplace retirement accounts, according to a senior White House official.
The Order, Plainly: From Memo to Menu
The executive order will direct Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to reexamine the Department of Labor’s guidance on which assets are allowed in retirement plans governed by ERISA (1974).
It also tells the DOL to coordinate with Treasury and the SEC, and asks the SEC to allow investors access to alternative assets in retirement plans it oversees.
ERISA Back in Play: Trump Revives the Retirement Rulebook
This isn’t the first time the door was pushed.
In the final year of Trump’s first term, the White House directed regulators to evaluate whether alternative assets should be permitted in retirement accounts.
That guidance was later rolled back under President Joe Biden.
During Trump’s second term, the question has been back on the table for months; the new order moves to reinstate the earlier posture and formalize a path for alternative assets (including crypto) in 401(k)s.
Winners on Day One: Crypto and Private Equity Get the Edge
If signed as described, the order is a boon for private equity and other alternative asset managers, and another win for the crypto industry, whose ETFs, funds, and related products have largely been avoided by traditional retirement plan managers to date.
The Bigger Picture: How This Fits Trump’s Pro-Crypto Agenda
The administration’s broader stance has been to strip back red tape and open markets for crypto firms.
It has signed an executive order establishing a Bitcoin and digital assets reserve, eliminated the Department of Justice’s crypto enforcement, and pressed Congress on two industry-shaping bills. One – a stablecoin law was signed in July; a second, broader crypto-markets framework has passed the House and awaits a Senate vote.
For Savers and Sponsors: A New Menu Inside 401(k)s
If agencies follow the order’s direction, plan menus could include access to Bitcoin ETFs and other alternatives alongside traditional funds.
The mechanism is regulatory: the DOL reexamines guidance, coordinates with Treasury and SEC, and the SEC adjusts access for the plans it monitors.
The upshot is choice – more asset types available inside a qualified plan architecture that most Americans already use.
The Politics Beneath the Policy
The move arrives as crypto companies – significant donors to Trump’s reelection effort seek deeper mainstream access.
It also could benefit Trump’s business empire: over the past year, the president launched his own memecoin, while Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. rolled out crypto ventures including a Bitcoin mining company and a DeFi app.
The Future Menu of American Savings
The order doesn’t rewrite ERISA by itself; it reopens the rulebook and lines up agencies to make access real.
For private equity and crypto, it’s a green light to compete for a slice of America’s retirement savings. For savers, it’s the start of a new menu – one that could, for the first time, put Bitcoin ETFs and other alternatives inside the nation’s most familiar savings vehicle.
