US Labor Dept. Urged to Rescind Crypto Guidance as Pushback Grows

The US Department of Labor continues to receive pushback on guidance issued in March restricting crypto for use in 401(k) retirement plans

article-image

Department of Labor | Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • The US President’s executive order calls for a unified approach to crypto regulation and innovation
  • The Crypto Council for Innovation said Wednesday the Department of Labor’s guidance, issued in May, takes a one sided-approach to the nascent asset class

A crypto industry body in the US is urging the Department of Labor (DOL) to reconsider its crypto guidance for retirement plans, amid mounting pushback from concerned community members.

The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) said Wednesday the DOL’s guidance is inconsistent with directives from the White House and President Biden’s Executive Order for the nascent asset class.

In a letter penned to the department’s Acting Assistant Secretary Ali Khawar, CCI is asking DOL to rescind its Release No. 2022-01 guidance, issued in March, that precludes 401(k) administrators from including crypto investment options in their plans.

Regulators are now weighing up whether to issue an official rule that would address the appropriateness of crypto in 401(k) plans, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

DOL’s guidance imposes a higher standard of care for crypto when compared to other financial options for 401(k)s by taking a one-sided and highly negative view, according to CCI.

The DOL is tasked with overseeing the security of the retirement, health and other workplace-related benefits of US employees.

It comes as the department stares down a legal challenge by 401(k) provider ForUsAll, which filed its lawsuit earlier this month claiming the department’s move to restrict the use of crypto in retirement plans is “arbitrary and capricious.”

A month after the DOL’s guidance was issued, Boston-based financial services provider Fidelity Investments moved to allow individuals to allocate a portion of their retirement savings to bitcoin through the company’s 401(k) investment lineup.

“CCI is deeply concerned…based on a factually and legally flawed analysis,” the council said in its letter. “We also urge the Department to commence a more open, inclusive and deliberative process to develop guidance for the inclusion of crypto assets on 401(k) investment menus.”

President Biden’s “Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets” signed in March of this year, calls for a unified approach to regulating and evaluating cryptocurrencies.

It marked the first time the executive branch signed such an order for the industry and was welcomed by investors and businesses alike, though it fell short of providing clearer regulatory guidelines many were asking for.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) represent low-hanging fruit in a massive market ripe for Web3-driven disruption. The global CDN market was valued at ~$28B in 2024, and is projected to surpass $140B by 2034, (18.75% CAGR) underscoring the immense demand for efficient content delivery.

article-image

A vote ending Monday could introduce a new layer of security for Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol

article-image

Framework’s Michael Anderson explains what tokens need in order to be successful

article-image

Conferences are pop-up innovation clusters—and filters for the riff-raff

article-image

Tariff front-running may have caused an artificial bounce in economic data earlier this year

article-image

Waka Flocka Flame-linked BaseDrop is raising some eyebrows

article-image

IPO’ing onchain, Ethereum scaling, and using AI for ZK