Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) this week wrote to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, asking how the agency plans to protect investors holding cryptocurrencies in retirement portfolios, citing the asset class’s “volatility, weak investor protections and lack of transparency.”
“For most Americans, their 401(k) represents a lifeline to retirement security rather than a playground for financial risk. Allowing crypto into American retirement accounts creates fertile ground for workers and families to lose big,” Warren wrote.
In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order laying the groundwork to add alternative assets, including crypto, into workplace retirement accounts. The Senate Committee on Banking meets Thursday to establish a framework for crypto oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Some brokerages, such as Fidelity, already offer direct cryptocurrency investments in individual retirement accounts, and others, such as Charles Schwab, offer access to crypto exchange-traded funds. And 10% of U.S. adults with retirement accounts say they hold at least some crypto therein, according to a 2025 survey from NerdWallet. Younger investors are even more enthusiastic, with 18% of millennials and 14% Gen Zers reporting a crypto retirement holding.
