Why Elizabeth Warren Says Crypto Has No Place in Workers’ 401(k) Savings

• Warren urges the SEC to block crypto in 401ks to protect workers’ long-term retirement savings.
• Her letter warns that crypto volatility and crashes could quickly erase decades of retirement gains.
• She questions the Trump administration’s motives, citing family crypto profits and potential conflicts of interest.

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned that cryptocurrencies are not suitable for Americans’ retirement savings. In a letter sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission, she argued that allowing crypto into 401(k) plans could expose millions of workers to sudden losses and long-term financial harm.

Her warning follows an August 2025 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which encourages regulators to make it easier for retirement plans to include cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets.

Crypto Volatility Clashes With Retirement Goals

Warren says retirement money is meant to grow slowly and safely over decades. Crypto markets, by contrast, can rise and fall sharply within days or even hours. She points to Bitcoin’s steep drops in late 2025 as proof that digital assets remain unstable and unreliable for long-term retirement planning.

She also highlights government studies showing that crypto prices are difficult to value fairly and lack clear methods for predicting future returns, making them a risky choice for 401(k) investors.

“For most Americans, a 401(k) is a lifeline, not a place to gamble,” Warren wrote.

Why Warren Says Crypto Puts 401(k)s at Risk

• Crypto prices can crash suddenly, wiping out years of savings
• Investor protections and transparency remain weak
• Higher fees can quietly reduce long-term returns
• Conflicts of interest raise questions about policy motives

“After reaching an all-time high in October, Bitcoin suffered a lengthy slump—declining by 33% in just over six weeks and “wiping out nearly $800 billion in value”—and dipped again in December,” she wrote.

Concerns Over Trump’s Crypto Links

Warren has also raised alarms about President Trump’s close financial ties to the crypto industry. She argues that his administration’s push to open 401(k)s to crypto comes as Trump-family-linked projects reportedly generated large profits, even while many of those tokens lost most of their value.

According to Warren, this creates the appearance that risky policies may benefit insiders while exposing ordinary workers to losses.

A Warning About Future Regulation

Finally, Warren warns that pending crypto legislation in Congress could weaken the SEC’s authority over blockchain-based financial products. She says such loopholes could allow risky assets to flow into retirement accounts with little oversight, increasing instability in the broader financial system.

This letter follows Warren’s repeated warnings about Trump’s crypto ventures. In 2025, Warren called those businesses an “$800 million grift” and a “superhighway of crypto corruption,” arguing they created serious conflicts of interest. 

She has also said Trump-backed stablecoins pose national security risks and warned that Congress risked making the president “the regulator of his own financial product.” 

Related: Standard Chartered Plans Institutional Crypto Brokerage for 2026