U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT RESCINDS 2022 CRYPTO GUIDANCE FOR 401(K) PLANS
The U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn its 2022 guidance that warned fiduciaries against including cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans. That guidance had urged “extreme care,” diverging from the department’s traditionally neutral approach under ERISA.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer criticized the prior stance as government overreach, saying investment decisions should be left to fiduciaries, not bureaucrats.
With this reversal, the department returns to a neutral position—neither encouraging nor opposing the inclusion of crypto in retirement plans.
KRAKEN TO LAUNCH TOKENIZED U.S. STOCKS FOR GLOBAL USERS
Kraken, a U.S.-based crypto exchange, will soon let non-U.S. users trade tokenized versions of popular U.S. stocks like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia. These digital tokens, called xStocks, will trade 24/7 on the Solana blockchain, offering global investors easier and cheaper access to U.S. equities.
Key Details: 🔸 Launching in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia in the coming weeks. 🔸 Not available to U.S. users. 🔸 Over 50 stocks and ETFs will be tokenized, including SPY and SPDR Gold Shares. 🔸 Tokens will be backed by actual shares, held by Kraken’s partner Backed Finance, and redeemable for cash. 🔸 Tokens can be held in digital wallets or used as collateral for crypto trades.
Why Tokenize Stocks? Kraken says this allows 24/7 trading and avoids high fees and delays typical of international brokerage systems. Investors may eventually trade xStocks on other crypto platforms.
Bitcoin may continue to climb after hitting a record high, says Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick. A high U.S. Treasury term premium is boosting bitcoin, which tends to follow it. Inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs are growing, and both institutional and government interest are increasing. A new U.S. stablecoin regulation bill also supports the market. Standard Chartered expects bitcoin to reach $120,000 by the end of Q2, $200,000 by late 2025, and $500,000 by 2028. Bitcoin is currently up 2.3% at $110,768 after reaching $111,862.