House bill aims to protect bitcoin retirement accounts from federal ban

Last week’s crypto crash reportedly caught the attention of regulators and government officials, with congressional Republicans introducing a bill that would “protect” investors’ ability to add bitcoin to their 401(k) retirement plans. The bill, a companion bill to the House Financial Freedom Act of 2022, was introduced by Rep. Byron Donald (R-FL) and supported by fellow Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Kim Rong (R- CA), David Schweckert (R-AZ), and Tom Emmer (R-MN). If passed, the U.S. Labor Department would not be able to limit the types of investments 401(k) account holders can choose from, including bitcoin — which Fidelity funds plan to offer later this year. According to a press release, the bill was drafted in response to regulatory guidance issued on May 10 by the U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration, which suggested that investors should be prevented from adding cryptocurrencies to 401(k )plan. As previously reported, Fidelity became the first brokerage to announce plans to start offering bitcoin as an investment option in 401(k) accounts.