President Donald Trump is planning to issue an executive order to allow alternative investments — including cryptocurrencies, gold, private equity, and other non-traditional assets — to be included in the national retirement market, according to disclosures from three sources familiar with the matter as reported by the Financial Times.
If the executive order is issued, federal regulators will have to review the current legal barriers preventing alternative assets from being incorporated into professionally managed retirement funds, such as 401(k) accounts — the most popular retirement savings vehicle in the U.S.
This move comes amid the Trump administration and some federal agencies gradually loosening their stance on allowing cryptocurrencies to appear in retirement investment plans. At the end of May, the U.S. Department of Labor withdrew previous guidance that warned fund managers to be 'extremely cautious' when including crypto in their investment portfolios — aiming to reverse what they considered 'overreach' during the Biden administration.
Legislatively, Congress has also made efforts to expand retirement investment portfolios to include cryptocurrencies. In 2022, Congressman Peter Meijer proposed the 'Retirement Savings Modernization' bill, aiming to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to allow digital assets, venture capital, and private equity to be included in eligible investment portfolios. However, this bill has never been officially voted on in the House.
As of March 2025, Americans are holding about $8.7 trillion in 401(k) retirement accounts, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. With the 401(k) model, workers are allowed to allocate a portion of their salary into a tax-advantaged investment account and often receive additional contributions from their employer. It is equivalent to contributing to social insurance in Vietnam.
Several states in the U.S. have moved ahead of the federal government in integrating digital assets into retirement funds. In March 2025, North Carolina introduced two bills allowing a maximum allocation of 5% of the value of certain retirement funds into cryptocurrencies. Michigan also revealed a $6.6 million investment in the ARKB Bitcoin ETF and $10 million in the Ethereum ETF. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Investment Board reported holding $163 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
