Does Your 401(k) Let You Invest in Bitcoin? | Personal Finance

When you’d invested $1,000 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in 2010, you’d in all probability already be retired — and residing a fairly extravagant way of life at that. And with some crypto-bulls asserting that the unique cryptocurrency’s value might someday exceed $100,000 per token, it is comprehensible that many individuals could be questioning if Bitcoin might assist fund their retirements too.

Something’s attainable, however in case you’re hoping to make use of your 401(okay) funds to spend money on Bitcoin, you would run right into a shocking drawback.

In a typical 401(okay), the corporate affords its workers a restricted menu of selections through which they’ll make investments, typically mutual funds and ETFs. Some might permit them to spend money on firm inventory as effectively. However few companies allow their workers to spend money on something they need. You possibly can thank the Worker Retirement Earnings Safety Act of 1974 (ERISA) for that.

This legislation does some nice issues to guard the rank-and-file employee’s retirement financial savings, together with requiring plan trustees (i.e., the employers) to behave as fiduciaries. This implies they’ve a authorized obligation to take prudent care of their workers’ cash. If they do not do that, they may very well be held chargeable for the losses their workers incur.