Fidelity to Allow Retirement Savings Allocation to Bitcoin In 401(k) Accounts

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Fidelity Investments will allow investors to establish a bitcoin account to their 401(k) retirement savings and investment programs.

Fidelity Investments, the first large retirement plan provider to do so, announced on Tuesday that individuals will be able to invest a portion of their retirement savings in bitcoin through their 401(k) investing plans.

MicroStrategy Inc, a prominent bitcoin corporate sponsor, will be the first company to use the new product, which will be offered to other companies by the middle of the year, according to the family-controlled asset manager.

Employees will be able to invest in bitcoin through a Digital Assets Account (DAA) within the basic lineup of their 401(k) plans as part of the new offering, according to Fidelity.

Newfront, a retirement consulting services provider, has also suggested that the DAA will help fulfill a rising need among their client base, according to Fidelity.

Plan sponsors will be able to decide on employee contributions to the DAA and set restrictions on how much of that money can be exchanged for bitcoin, according to Fidelity, who also stated that further information about the new product will be available in the coming months.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which was the first to publish the news, Dave Gray, president of Fidelity's workplace retirement solutions and platforms, said the scheme will initially be restricted to bitcoin, but that other digital assets will be made available in the future.

The news comes after US President Joe Biden signed an executive order in March mandating that the government study the dangers and benefits of developing a central bank digital currency, as well as other cryptocurrency concerns.