The Trump administration issued an executive order in August 2025 titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors“, directing regulatory agencies to remove barriers to the inclusion of private capital, real estate, and digital assets in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Ten weeks earlier, the Department of Labor had rescinded its 2022 guidance requiring 401(k) fiduciaries to exercise “extreme caution” with cryptocurrencies. The events are not anecdotal; they constitute a reconfiguration of the regulatory perimeter that defines which assets may reside in the largest savings vehicle in the United States: the retirement system, valued at 49.1 trillion dollars according to the Investment Company Institute.
The structural shift: from the brokerage model to self-direction
For the crypto sector, the implication is direct: the distribution channel toward institutionalized retail capital has expanded. Traditionally, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s offered access to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs. The inclusion of cryptocurrencies is channeled primarily through Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs) a structure that allows the account holder to select investments outside the standard menu of conventional brokerages.
The SDIRA model is not new; it has existed for decades for real estate and precious metals. What is novel is the convergence of multiple asset classes into a single account with a unified fee structure. IRA Financial, for example, offers a platform that allows investors to trade nearly 100 crypto tokens in real time, alongside stocks, ETFs, real estate, gold, and private equity, all under an annual fee below 500 dollars and with no percentage-based assets-under-management fees. That model of a single-account, single-fee structure contrasts with the percentage-based fee model that dominates the traditional asset management industry.
The Bergman critique: the conflict-of-interest argument
Adam Bergman, founder of IRA Financial, has been the most vocal spokesperson for this transformation. His thesis is that large financial institutions—Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard—have restricted access to alternative assets not for reasons of fiduciary prudence, but to preserve their revenue streams based on fees charged on managed assets.
Bergman argues that concentration in indices such as the S&P 500 does not constitute genuine diversification, as the index is market-cap weighted and exposes the investor to concentrated risk in a few technology companies.
That argument has technical implications for the crypto industry: the legitimacy of the underlying asset is no longer the primary obstacle. The obstacle has been, according to Bergman, the capture of distribution by intermediaries who lack economic incentives to enable asset classes that do not generate recurring fees. The executive order and the revocation of the DOL guidance alter that dynamic by removing the regulatory cover that traditional institutions used to justify exclusion.
Implications for custody and operational security
The inclusion of cryptoassets in IRAs introduces custody requirements that differ from self-custody or centralized exchange models. IRS regulations require that platforms holding IRA assets qualify as banks or obtain IRS approval as non-bank fiduciaries or custodians, demonstrating fiduciary capacity, suitability for handling retirement funds, and the ability to account to account holders.
A critical technical aspect is private key management. The custodian must retain exclusive authority to execute transactions on behalf of the IRA account to preserve the tax-advantaged status. That requirement creates tension with the principle of self-custody that many crypto investors consider fundamental.
Platforms such as Unchained have addressed that tension through a collaborative custody model with multisig: the account holder retains two of three keys, and Unchained retains one, so the platform cannot access the assets unilaterally. That model offers a compromise between security and control that could become a standard for cryptoasset custody in retirement accounts.
Tokenization of traditional assets: gold and real estate on-chain
The tokenization of traditional assets is emerging as a parallel vector. SmartGold, in collaboration with the tokenization platform Chintai Nexus, is moving 1.6 billion dollars in gold reserves onto the blockchain, allowing IRA holders to own digital representations of physical gold within tax-advantaged accounts. That type of tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) allows gold, real estate, and private equity to be traded with the liquidity and divisibility of digital assets, while maintaining the tax status of a retirement account.
The development represents an expansion of the addressable market: it is not only about retirement investors buying Bitcoin, but about traditional assets being incorporated into the blockchain infrastructure within the same fiscal vehicle. The distinction between “crypto asset” and “tokenized traditional asset” becomes operationally irrelevant when both reside on the same platform and settle on the same chain.
Persistent operational and regulatory risks
Despite the policy shift, operational and compliance risks persist that the crypto industry must address. The first is the risk of prohibited transactions. The Internal Revenue Code prohibits certain transactions between an IRA and “disqualified persons,” including the account holder, their spouse, ancestors and descendants, and any entity controlled by those persons. A prohibited transaction can result in the disqualification of the IRA and the imposition of significant penalties. For crypto investors accustomed to the fluidity of wallet-to-wallet transactions, that introduces a compliance regime that cannot be ignored.
The second risk is custody vulnerability. In February 2022, IRA Financial’s Gemini accounts suffered a 36 million dollar hack. That incident underscores that custody security is not a solved problem, and the inclusion of cryptoassets in retirement accounts amplifies the potential impact of a security breach, given that retirement funds represent lifetime savings for many Americans.
The third risk is underlying asset volatility and its suitability for long-term investment horizons. While some argue that the 20-to-40-year horizon of a retirement account is adequate for Bitcoin’s appreciation cycle, the recommended allocation from most financial advisors remains in the 5% to 10% range of the total portfolio. The lack of a long-term performance history for most cryptoassets, with the exception of Bitcoin, introduces uncertainty in portfolio modeling that traditional asset managers have not yet fully resolved.
Generational demand and the changing distribution channel
A structural factor accelerating that trend is the intergenerational wealth transfer. The Gen Z cohort is estimated to inherit approximately 15 trillion dollars over the coming decades. That demographic group shows higher trust in cryptocurrencies than in traditional banks. When those funds are channeled into retirement accounts, the pressure from account holders to include cryptoassets will be difficult for fiduciaries and custodians to ignore.
Platforms are responding to that demand. Retired.com, founded in 2016 as a cryptocurrency IRA, has expanded its offering to include gold, real estate, private placements, and public markets in a single account. Its “Bring Your Own Deal” feature allows clients to incorporate real estate deals or private placements that they have originated themselves. That represents a shift in the relationship between the investor and the custodian: the investor is no longer limited to choosing from pre-approved products on the platform but can originate assets and hold them within the fiscal vehicle.
Implications for the asset management industry
The cryptoassets toward retirement plans has competitive implications for the asset management industry. Traditional managers that do not offer exposure to digital and alternative assets within their retirement platforms could face client outflows toward self-directed custodians that do.
The advantage of SDIRAs is not only the inclusion of new assets but the fee structure that eliminates percentage-based charges on assets under management. That puts downward pressure on the margins of the asset management industry, which has traditionally relied on percentage fees on managed capital.
Fidelity has launched a no-fee cryptocurrency IRA that allows investment in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. However, most 401(k) plans still do not offer cryptocurrency options directly. The Department of Labor’s “safe harbor” proposal from March 2026 could facilitate 401(k) fiduciaries including cryptoassets without exposing themselves to legal liabilities.
