The U.S. Department of Labor has submitted its final rule on alternative investments in retirement plans for White House review, advancing a framework that could make it easier for employers to offer crypto exposure through 401(k) accounts.
Summary
- OIRA received the final rule on Nov. 5 and lists its review as pending.
- The March proposal outlines six factors for fiduciaries to consider when selecting investment options.
- Americans held $10.8 trillion in 401(k) plans at the end of June, according to ICI.
- Sweep’s $216 billion crypto allocation scenario assumes 2% of that money enters digital assets.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs lists the measure as “Fiduciary Duties In Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives,” identifying it as a final rule submitted by the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration. The entry carries rule identifier 1210-AC38 and classifies the action as economically significant.
Received on Thursday, Nov. 5, the rule remains under review, with no legal deadline listed. Its submission follows the department’s March 30 announcement of a proposal covering how retirement-plan managers evaluate investment options, including funds holding private equity, real estate and digital assets.
Crypto 401(k) access would depend on fiduciary decisions
In its March announcement, the Labor Department said managers of defined contribution plans already had authority to consider alternative assets, although historically few had done so.
The proposed framework sets out a process managers could follow when deciding whether an investment belongs on a plan’s menu. Its safe harbor concerns their duty of prudence under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the federal law governing private-sector retirement plans.
The department described its approach as neutral toward different investments. Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling said the proposal “refrains from saying that any asset class is any better or worse than other investment types.”
According to the department’s fact sheet, the framework would apply to any designated investment alternative, beyond funds containing alternative assets. Following the specified process would create a presumption that a fiduciary met the prudence requirement for the factors considered.
Crypto.news previously reported that the proposal cleared White House review on March 24. The November submission concerns the final-rule stage, following the proposal’s publication in the Federal Register on March 31 and a public comment deadline of June 1.
Six factors cover costs, withdrawals and investment risks
The March proposed rule identifies six non-exhaustive factors: performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, performance benchmarks and complexity.
For performance, the department asks fiduciaries to compare a reasonable number of similar investments and assess expected returns after fees, taking account of risk and an appropriate investment period. Its examples recognize that a strategy with lower expected returns may still be prudent if its risk characteristics support the plan’s objectives.
Costs receive a separate assessment. The proposal does not require managers to choose the cheapest product in every case, but says higher expenses should be supported by the investment’s expected returns or other benefits.
Liquidity assessments would consider whether an investment can meet anticipated needs at both the plan and participant levels. The fact sheet names retirement withdrawals, job departures, financial hardship, investment reallocations, and plan loans among events that may require access to money.
Valuation and benchmarking provisions address how managers assess investments without readily available market prices. The proposal defines a meaningful benchmark by its similarity to an investment’s mandate, strategy, objectives and risks, while complexity forms part of the fiduciary’s review of the product.
The $216 billion figure assumes a 2% crypto allocation
In a Nov. 6 X post, Sweep suggested that moving 2% of the money held in American 401(k) accounts into crypto would generate $216 billion in fresh inflows.
The calculation uses a $10.8 trillion asset base. That figure matches the Investment Company Institute’s second-quarter data, which put 401(k) assets at $10.8 trillion as of June 30, 2026.
Multiplying that balance by 2% produces $216 billion, but Sweep’s scenario assumes an allocation across the entire asset pool. It provides no timetable or announced commitments from employers, plan managers or participants.
ICI’s figures describe assets already held in retirement accounts. Its June data show mutual funds managed $6.2 trillion, or 58%, of 401(k) assets, with equity funds accounting for $3.7 trillion and hybrid funds, including target-date funds, holding $1.7 trillion.
