- Following the crypto meltdown last week, a group of Republicans in Congress has proposed a bill that would protect the right of investors to add Bitcoin to 401(k) retirement plans.
- The bill, if passed, will prevent the U.S. Labor Department from limiting the type of investments that 401(k) account holders can choose, including Bitcoin.
- Last month, Fidelity became the first brokerage to reveal plans to start offering Bitcoin as an investment option in 401(k) accounts.
Today, a group of Republicans in Congress introduced a bill that would safeguard the right of investors to add Bitcoin to 401(k) retirement plans; following the crypto market downturn last week, the attention of regulators and government officials.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) introduced the House companion of the Financial Freedom Act of 2022 bill with support from fellow representatives Young Kim (R-CA), Warren Davidson (R-OH), David Schweikert (R-AZ), and Tom Emmer (R-MN).
The bill, if passed, will prevent the U.S. Labor Department from limiting the type of investments that 401(k) account holders can select, including Bitcoin, which Fidelity intends to make accessible later this year.
The bill was drafted as a response to regulatory guidelines released on May 10 by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which implies that investors should be deterred from adding crypto to 401(k) plans, per a press release.
Congress stated in a release that the bill seeks to provide protection to American investors from what is a “gross example of government overreach,” according to him and his co-sponsors.
Fidelity became the first brokerage to announce plans to begin offering Bitcoin as an investment option in 401(k) accounts last month. The move was doubted and seen with concern by Democratic Senators Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren.
For a long time, Warren has criticized cryptocurrencies and even called digital assets a “risk to our financial stability and economy.”
The Department of Labor has also spoken about its own concerns regarding Fidelity opening its retirement accounts to Bitcoin. The acting assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Ali Khawar, citing the volatility of Bitcoin, told the Wall Street Journal that they have concerns about what Fidelity has done.
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Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/05/21/following-crypto-meltdown-bill-eyes-to-prevent-bitcoin-retirement-accounts-from-fed-ban/