Dick Durbin Joins US Senators Criticizing Fidelity’s Plan to Include Bitcoin in 401(k) Plans

The letter, addressed to Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, criticizes the firm’s decision to offer workers the option to invest in an “untested, highly volatile asset like bitcoin.”

In April, U.S.-based financial services firm Fidelity Investments announced it would allow investors to put bitcoin (BTC) into 401(k) retirement plans later this year, capping bitcoin holdings at 20% of an account’s value.

In May, Warren cosigned a similar letter with Smith asking Fidelity about the “appropriateness” of its plans in May.

Both letters echo concerns raised by the Labor Department about the appropriateness of the token as a store of value. “We have grave concerns with what Fidelity has done,” Ali Khawar, acting assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, told the Wall Street Journal in April.

Fidelity’s retirement accounts constitute a significant share of the retirement fund market. In 2020 the firm’s accounts held an estimated $2.4 trillion in 401(k) assets, or more than a third of the market at the time, according to research firm Cerulli Associates.

The letter comes at a time when Congress is paying more attention to cryptocurrencies now than ever before. On July 27, The Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee held three separate hearings on various aspects of the crypto industry.

Durbin previously implored U.S. regulators to “learn the truth” about the crypto industry as he criticized crypto mining initiatives in a mid-July tweet. “Families and businesses in America will pay the price for crypto’s mining ventures,” Sen. Durbin wrote.