The U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule on March 30 that would make it easier for 401(k) plans to include cryptocurrency, private equity, and other alternative assets.
The proposal, titled “Fiduciary Duties in Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives,” follows an August 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to expand retirement access to alternative assets. The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs cleared the rule for publication on March 24, classifying it as “economically significant.”
“This proposed rule will show how plans can consider products that better reflect the investment landscape as it exists today,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in the statement.
What the rule actually does
For years, most 401(k) plans have stuck to stocks and bonds. Not because the law prohibited alternatives, but because the legal risk of including them has kept most plan sponsors on the sidelines.
The new proposal aims to change that. It establishes a process-based safe harbor giving fiduciaries clearer legal cover when evaluating alternative investments. Plan managers would be required to assess each investment based on performance history, fees, liquidity, valuation methodology, and complexity.
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Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling put it plainly. “The department’s days of picking winners and losers are over,” he said. “Our rule clearly spells out that managers must evaluate any and all potential product offerings by following a prudent process.”
The assets that could qualify under the proposal include cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, private equity and private credit funds, real estate, infrastructure investments, commodities, and lifetime income strategies.
A shift from the Biden era
The proposal reverses a position the previous administration held firmly. In 2022, Biden-era Labor officials urged plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before adding crypto to 401(k) menus, citing “significant risks of fraud, theft, and loss.”
The DOL rescinded that guidance in May 2025. Trump’s executive order then went further, calling for digital assets to be treated on par with other investment options in retirement plans.
BlackRock said it supports policy initiatives “that thoughtfully expand access to investments historically out of reach, enhance diversification, and improve long-term outcomes, including for the more than 35 million Americans we help prepare for life after work.”
Not everyone is on board
The proposal has drawn sharp pushback from lawmakers and financial advisors. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was among the most vocal critics.
“As cracks emerge in the private credit market, private equity returns fall to 16-year lows, and crypto keeps tumbling, President Trump has decided now is the time to stick all of these risky assets into Americans’ 401(k)s,” Warren said in a statement.
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Warren pointed to research from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finding that crypto assets have “unique volatility” and lack reliable methods for forecasting returns. She noted that Bitcoin swung from more than $126,000 at its October 2025 peak to roughly $70,000 by early February 2026.
Legal experts have also raised doubts about how fast the rule will actually change things. “We remain skeptical that this will encourage fiduciaries to include alternatives in 401(k) plans until the courts have concurred that this language protects advisors from litigation,” said Jaret Seiberg, financial services and housing policy analyst at TD Cowen. “That means it could be several years before we see the real impact.”
Rules around 401(k)’s are changing.
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The market reaction
Public markets responded quickly to the news. Shares of Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, and KKRclimbed between 4% and 5% on March 30, reversing part of the drawdowns those firms had suffered earlier in 2026 as fundraising slowed.
Crypto markets moved more modestly. Bitcoin rose about 1% toward the mid-$60,000s and Ethereum gained just over 2% following the announcement, according to Yahoo Finance.
What happens next:
- The rule is still a proposal. The DOL will hold a public comment period before a final version is released.
- Even if finalized, employers are not required to offer alternative investments. Each plan sponsor must still go through its own evaluation process.
- Analysts at TD Cowen warn it could be several years before real-world adoption follows, pending court backing.
One attorney put it directly. “Under this proposed rule, plan participants are not going to wake up one day and find a bunch of standalone private equity funds, private credit funds, crypto funds on the menu of their 401(k) plan,” said Erin Cho, a partner at Mayer Brown in Washington, D.C., according to CNBC reporting.
The rule still needs to survive a public comment period, potential legal challenges, and voluntary adoption by plan sponsors before it reshapes how Americans invest for retirement.