The Financial Times reported that President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would open US 401(k) retirement plans to a broader set of alternative investments, including bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, gold, and private equity. If implemented, the move could materially expand the investment universe available to retirement savers and reshape how long-term savings are managed across the United States.
At the center of the discussion is the sheer scale of the market. The Financial Times described the proposal as a step that could open the $9 trillion US retirement market to cryptocurrency investments, precious metals, and private capital products. That would amount to a meaningful departure from the more traditional retirement allocation model, which has historically focused on public equities, bonds, and conventional mutual fund structures. In practical terms, it would place previously fringe or restricted assets closer to the mainstream of retirement planning.
Executive order may remove barriers for non-traditional assets in 401(k) plans
According to the report, the executive order is expected this week and would direct federal regulators to remove barriers that currently prevent 401(k) plans from including non-traditional investments in managed funds. This is an important distinction. The proposal is not framed simply as an invitation for individuals to speculate inside retirement accounts. Rather, it suggests a structural shift in the kinds of professionally managed investment products that could be offered through retirement plans.
The list of assets mentioned by the Financial Times is broad. It includes digital assets, metals, private loans, infrastructure deals, and corporate buyout funds. In other words, bitcoin is part of the story, but not the whole story. The reported initiative appears designed to widen the range of eligible retirement assets across several alternative investment categories. For the asset management industry, that matters because retirement accounts represent sticky, long-duration capital that can support entirely new product pipelines.
White House strikes a careful tone while policy direction stays pro-crypto
The White House told the Financial Times that President Trump is committed to “restoring prosperity for everyday Americans and safeguarding their economic future.” At the same time, the statement added that no decisions should be considered official unless they come directly from Trump himself. That caveat signals a degree of procedural caution, even as the broader policy direction appears increasingly clear.
This reported order would also fit into a wider pattern. The article notes that Trump’s latest move builds on earlier efforts by his administration to ease restrictions around bitcoin and crypto. In May 2026, the Department of Labor reversed a rule that had discouraged the inclusion of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in retirement plans. Trump has also backed recent bitcoin- and crypto-related bills passed by the House and has credited the industry with helping him win the 2024 election. Taken together, these developments suggest a deliberate attempt to make crypto more acceptable within major US financial channels.
Blackstone, Apollo, and BlackRock could be among the biggest beneficiaries
The Financial Times said the executive order could be particularly beneficial for major private investment and asset management firms such as Blackstone, Apollo, and BlackRock. These firms have increasingly tied their future growth to managing more money on behalf of retirement savers. If 401(k) plans gain a wider mandate to hold alternative assets, those firms would be well positioned to package and distribute eligible products into a massive pool of long-term capital.
The report included several concrete examples of how these firms are already preparing. Blackstone has entered into a partnership with Vanguard. Apollo and Partners Group are among the firms that will offer investments to Empower, a large 401(k) plan sponsor. BlackRock has already begun working with Great Gray Trust, a third-party manager of retirement savings plans. These relationships suggest that parts of Wall Street are not merely reacting to policy rumors. They are actively building distribution and infrastructure around retirement access to alternatives.
From the crypto market’s perspective, the significance goes beyond the possibility of additional demand for bitcoin. If retirement plans are formally permitted to gain exposure to digital assets, that would further institutionalize crypto within the US financial system. Retirement money comes with strict expectations around fiduciary duty, disclosure, custody, and risk management. As a result, any expansion of crypto access through 401(k) plans could also accelerate work on compliant product design, regulated custody arrangements, and broader coordination between financial firms and regulators.
Still, the original report did not provide details on allocation caps, implementation timelines, or the exact compliance framework that would govern such investments. For now, the proposal is best understood as a major policy signal rather than a fully completed regulatory reality. Even so, if the order is signed as described, it would mark a notable step in bringing bitcoin, crypto, gold, and private market assets deeper into one of the most important savings systems in the United States.