Trump to Greenlight Crypto in 401(k)s | COINDESK DAILY
Trump Executive Order on Crypto in 401(k)s: What the Department of Labor May Change
Breaking policy update: reports indicate President Trump will sign an executive order directing the Department of Labor to loosen fiduciary restrictions that currently deter plan administrators from offering cryptocurrency, private equity, and real estate in 401(k) plans. This potential shift would reshape retirement investing by clarifying plan sponsor liability and encouraging inclusion of digital assets like bitcoin in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Why 401(k) crypto inclusion matters for investors and plan administrators
Allowing cryptocurrencies and alternative assets into retirement funds could broaden portfolio diversification strategies, increase demand for regulated crypto products, and prompt custodians and record-keepers to develop compliant custody and reporting solutions. For investors and financial advisors, this signals renewed urgency to understand tax, custody, and risk management implications of digital asset allocations in retirement accounts.
Ripple’s Rail Acquisition: Stablecoin Payments and Infrastructure Expansion
Ripple agreed to buy Rail, a Toronto-based stablecoin payments platform, for $200 million to accelerate its footprint in stablecoin infrastructure. The acquisition, likely closing in Q4, complements Ripple’s own RLUSD stablecoin ambitions and reinforces the strategic role of stablecoins in cross-border payments, liquidity rails, and fiat on/off ramping for institutions and payment processors.
Implications for payments innovation and stablecoin adoption
- Consolidation in payments infrastructure may speed up enterprise adoption of stablecoins for remittances and settlement.
- Investors should watch partnerships, regulatory clarity, and custody models that support institutional stablecoin flows.
Privacy Blockchains and Legal Precedents: Midnight and Tornado Cash
Midnight introduces programmable privacy and selective disclosure, letting decentralized apps reveal only necessary user data without exposing sensitive information on-chain. This represents a new balance between privacy, compliance, and utility for decentralized applications.
At the same time, the Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was convicted of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, a verdict that highlights evolving legal risk for developers of privacy-enhancing tools. The split verdict on laundering and sanctions charges underscores uncertain prosecutorial strategies and potential appeals.
Takeaway for builders and compliance teams
Designers of privacy-preserving protocols must consider regulatory frameworks, selective disclosure mechanisms, and compliance-friendly privacy that enable auditability without sacrificing user protections.
Bottom line: This episode ties regulatory shifts, corporate consolidation in stablecoin rails, and privacy-plus-compliance innovations to market moves — including a visible bitcoin price reaction — showing how policy, M&A, and legal outcomes are shaping crypto’s next phase.
