{"id":29193,"date":"2025-05-29T10:01:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=29193"},"modified":"2025-05-29T10:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:01:56","slug":"us-department-of-labor-rescinds-2022-guidance-against-crypto-investments-for-retirement-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=29193","title":{"rendered":"US Department Of Labor Rescinds 2022 Guidance Against Crypto Investments For Retirement Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The US Department of Labor (DOL) has rescinded its 2022 guidance, which discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency investments in 401(k) retirement plans, citing an \u201coverreach\u201d by the previous administration.<\/p>\n

DOL Rescinds Biden Admin\u2019s Crypto Guidance<\/h2>\n

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor\u2019s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) rescinded<\/a> its 2022 compliance release. The guidance was issued in March 2022 following former US President Joe Biden\u2019s executive order that required the government to assess the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

It directed<\/a> plan fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to exercise \u201cextreme care\u201d before adding digital assets to their investment menus, asserting that the digital asset industry\u2019s early stage could pose significant risks.<\/p>\n

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At this early stage in the history of cryptocurrencies, the Department has serious concerns about the prudence of a fiduciary\u2019s decision to expose a 401(k) plan\u2019s participants to direct investments in cryptocurrencies, or other products whose value is tied to cryptocurrencies. These investments present significant risks and challenges to participants\u2019 retirement accounts, including significant risks of fraud, theft, and loss.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The EBSA release noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff had cautioned that digital asset investments were \u201chighly speculative.\u201d It also cited custodial, recordkeeping, and valuation concerns as part of the reasons for the warning.<\/p>\n

Moreover, it alleged that the evolving regulatory<\/a> environment made digital asset investments for retirement plans difficult for fiduciaries to comply with the law. \u201cRules and regulations governing the cryptocurrency markets may be evolving, and some market participants may be operating outside of existing regulatory frameworks or not complying with them,\u201d the guidance stated.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Reuters reported<\/a> that a US federal judge dismissed an investment adviser company\u2019s case against the DOL. ForUsAll sued the agency over the 2022 compliance release, alleging that the guidance was \u201cunlawful,\u201d illegally skipped the rulemaking process, and pushed customers away from crypto offerings.<\/p>\n

However, the judge considered that, even if it was rescinded, it would not have changed the DOJ\u2019s view about cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

A Neutral Approach To Digital Assets<\/h2>\n

According to the DOL\u2019s May 28 release, the language used in the 2022 guidance \u201cdeviated from the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and marked a departure from the department\u2019s historically neutral, principled-based approach to fiduciary investment decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DOJ highlighted that it had a neutral approach to specific investment types and strategies before the 2022 compliance release. As such, it is restoring its historical approach by neither endorsing nor disapproving of plan fiduciaries that concluded digital asset investments are appropriate<\/a> for the plan\u2019s menu.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy rescinding the 2022 guidance, the department reaffirms its neutral stance,\u00a0neither endorsing, nor disapproving of, plan fiduciaries who conclude that the inclusion of cryptocurrency in a plan\u2019s investment menu is appropriate,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

Moreover, US Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, criticized the previous administration for overstepping with the 2022 guidance, affirming that \u201cThe Biden administration\u2019s Department of Labor made a choice to put their thumb on the scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not DC bureaucrats,\u201d Chavez-DeRemer concluded, seemingly supporting<\/a> the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to halt the previous \u201cregulation by enforcement\u201d approach and turn the US into \u201cthe crypto capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"crypto,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has rescinded its 2022 guidance, which discouraged fiduciaries from including cryptocurrency investments in 401(k) retirement plans, citing an \u201coverreach\u201d by the previous administration. DOL Rescinds Biden Admin\u2019s Crypto Guidance On Wednesday, the Department of Labor\u2019s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) rescinded its 2022 compliance release. The guidance was issued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-29193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}