US Congressional Democrats Oppose Labor Department Easing 401(k) Investment Restrictions to Include Crypto Assets

According to The Guardian, several Democratic members of the US Congress have written to oppose a proposal by the Department of Labor that would include high-risk assets such as cryptocurrencies, private credit, and private equity in the investment scope of 401(k) retirement plans. They stated that this move could expose approximately $14.2 trillion in retirement savings to highly volatile assets and would be difficult to defend in court. The letter cited Finra and FBI data, pointing out the high volatility of crypto investments and that related fraud complaints in 2025 caused losses exceeding $11 billion. Democrats also questioned the conflict of interest between the Trump administration and the crypto industry, noting that a Trump memecoin issued by his family fell from about $75 to $2, and claimed the proposal primarily benefits the crypto industry rather than retirement savers.