Fidelity’s New 401(k) Offering Will Invest in Bitcoin
2022.04.26 15:12
Fidelity’s New 401(k) Offering Will Invest in Bitcoin (BTC)
Financial services company Fidelity Investment said it plans to let investors add Bitcoin (BTC) to their 401(k) retirement accounts, making it the first retirement-plan provider to allow it.
The option, which will become available later this year, will allow 23,000 companies that use Fidelity to manage their retirement plans to include the world’s largest cryptocurrency in their accounts.
The move indicates that the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin continues and comes just a month after the Labor Department raised concerns over including crypto assets in retirement plans.
Fidelity’s announcement comes amid a period of significantly high volatility for Bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency being down over 40% since it peaked in November.
The S&P 500 is also down 10% since the start of the year, partly because of rising interest rates due to geopolitical tensions.
“There is a need for a diverse set of products and investment solutions for our investors,” said Dave Gray, head of workplace retirement offerings and platforms at Fidelity.
“We fully expect that cryptocurrency is going to shape the way future generations think about investing for the near term and long term.”
The new option will allow Fidelity customers to allocate up to 20% of their nest eggs to BTC, with a possibility of plan sponsors reducing that threshold.
Gray said clients will be able to add only Bitcoin to their retirement accounts at first, though the company plans to include other digital assets as well in the future.
By Senad Karaahmetovic
