Congress Pushes SEC to Open 401(k)s to Crypto

A fresh pressure campaign just landed in Washington.

A newly issued letter dated December 11, 2025 from the House Financial Services Committee urges SEC Chair Paul Atkins to immediately implement President Trump’s Executive Order 14330, which directs regulators to expand retirement access to “alternative assets”, a category that explicitly includes crypto.

The letter, signed on official committee letterhead under Chairman French Hill and Ranking Member Maxine Waters, reinforces the administration’s position that 401(k) savers should be allowed to allocate into products like Bitcoin and other alternative assets when fiduciaries deem it appropriate.

What the Letter Demands

The committee tells the SEC to:

• Move quickly to revise rules that restrict 401(k) plans from offering alternative investment options
• Support the Department of Labor in rewriting guidance to align with the August 7 Executive Order
• Facilitate new pathways for retail retirement savers (not only accredited investors) to access regulated alternative products

The letter cites existing bills such as H.R. 3394 and H.R. 3348, which aim to modernize the accredited-investor framework and widen participation in private-market and alternative asset investing.

Keep More On Every Order: 0% Maker, 0.02% Taker

Sign Up Now

Why Today’s Timing Matters

The message lands just days before the House votes on the INVEST Act, a broad capital-formation package Chairman Hill confirmed will hit the floor this week. The coordinated timing signals that lawmakers want regulatory alignment now, ensuring the SEC implements the infrastructure needed to allow retirement plans to participate in these markets.

A Possible Bipartisan Breakthrough

The letterhead includes Maxine Waters, long known as the sharpest Democratic critic of crypto market expansion. If she supports this request, as the document layout suggests, it marks a stunning shift: formal, bipartisan pressure on the SEC to give 401(k) savers optional access to alternatives, including crypto products.

The Real Impact

If the SEC follows through, the move could open the door for over 90 million Americans with 401(k) accounts to gain access to Bitcoin ETFs and other regulated crypto investment vehicles, a structural change with far greater scale than any single ETF approval.

The letter puts it plainly: Americans “preparing for retirement should have access to funds that include investments in alternative assets… to enhance net risk-adjusted returns.”