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The Office of Government Accountability (GAO), a legislative branch watchdog, received a letter from the chairman of the United House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal. The letter asks the GAO to consider whether in retirement plans there is the use of cryptocurrencies.
These plans need to determine its contributions, which may refer to the 401 (k) plan. This plan increasingly allows savers to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their plans. Lawmakers are concerned about the possibility of cryptocurrency volatility and limited scrutiny.
Gao has been asked by Neal about listing companies that offer cryptocurrency options in the 401 (k) plan and level nails when using those options. He also asked the Government Accountability Office to describe the management of cryptocurrencies in that plan and also to have regulatory evaluation, supervision and guidance.
Labor Minister Marty Walsh told the Education and Labor Committee that his department was developing rules on cryptocurrencies in retirement plans, shortly after neal's letter was sent out. The Department of Labor (DOL) officially announced in March that it would launch a new investigation program targeting plans to provide investments by participants in the electronics market and related products to the market.
Despite the DOL's words, Fidelity Investments, a 401 (k) provider, began offering cryptocurrency options as part of its retirement plan in April. This prompted a sharp response from Senator Elizabeth Warren. He is skeptical of cryptocurrencies and asked Fidelity to explain how to handle the risks that cryptocurrencies may face in the future. He also implied that the company had previous conflicts of interest because of its involvement in cryptocurrencies.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville introduced the Financial Freedom bill in May, which was intended to prevent the DOL from interfering with the use of cryptocurrencies by planned vendors. In early June, the supplier câos 401 (k) sued the DOL and asked to cancel the March compliance support release.
Jeff Schulte, CEO of ForUsAll, commented in a statement that he was pleased that the Labor Department had considered following the appropriate rule-making process for change. The DOL has no right to choose winners or losers because they are trying to ban entire asset classes.
