A U.S. Labor Department rule that could make it easier for workplace retirement plans to consider funds containing cryptocurrency and other alternative assets has reached the White House for review. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received the final rule on November 5 and lists its review as pending, moving the measure closer to publication without making it effective.

The final text is not public

The docket identifies the measure as Fiduciary Duties In Selecting Designated Investment Alternatives, RIN 1210-AC38. OIRA classifies it as economically significant and shows no legal deadline for completing its review. The final rule itself has not been released, so its precise safe harbors, compliance dates and any changes from the March proposal cannot yet be verified.

Related reporting: Crypto 401(k) Rule Reaches White House Review, With No Approval Yet

White House review is a regulatory checkpoint, not approval for immediate use. OIRA can clear a rule, seek revisions or return it to the agency. Even after clearance, the Labor Department would still need to publish the final text and specify an effective date before plan sponsors could rely on its operative provisions.

A neutral process, not a crypto mandate

The Labor Department proposed the framework in March to implement President Donald Trump's executive order on alternative assets in 401(k) plans. That order included actively managed vehicles investing in digital assets alongside private markets, real estate, commodities, infrastructure and lifetime-income strategies. The proposal was framed as asset-neutral rather than an endorsement of any category.

Under the March version, fiduciaries would evaluate investment options through a documented process covering performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks and complexity. Following the specified process could create a presumption that a fiduciary satisfied the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's duty of prudence for the factors considered. Plans would not be required to use the safe harbor or change their investment menus.

That distinction limits what the new filing proves. It does not place Bitcoin, Ether or smaller tokens into any worker's account, and it does not compel an employer to offer a crypto fund. Plan fiduciaries would remain responsible for determining whether a product is appropriate for participants, while recordkeepers and custodians would need systems capable of handling its pricing, liquidity and operational risks.

Why the review matters

The Labor Department says more than 90 million Americans participate in the retirement plans covered by the proposal. A clearer fiduciary process could reduce litigation uncertainty for employers and asset managers considering diversified funds with private or digital-asset exposure. It could also increase scrutiny of costs and valuation where alternative holdings are less liquid or harder to benchmark than listed stocks and bonds.

Crypto exposure would most likely depend on the products that plan committees can evaluate and administer, not on a regulator choosing eligible tokens. Managed funds and regulated wrappers may fit existing retirement infrastructure more readily than direct token custody, but the unpublished final rule may alter how those products are assessed.

What comes next

The next verifiable event is OIRA completing its review or posting a change in status. Publication would then reveal whether the final rule preserved the proposed six-factor process, how its safe harbor works and when compliance begins. Until that text appears, claims that crypto has been approved for 401(k) plans overstate a rulemaking process that remains unfinished.

Sources

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