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Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor had “serious concerns” about including cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans, which effectively created a ban on the practice. But now things are shifting in the opposite direction, as the Senate last month passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act to regulate stablecoins. Last week, the House passed the legislation and President Donald Trump signed it.
The GENIUS Act—the first major cryptocurrency legislation ever passed by the U.S. Congress—establishes federal guardrails for dollar-denominated stablecoins. These digital assets, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar to maintain a stable value, are now on a regulated pathway for private companies to issue digital dollars with the blessing of the federal government. Companies selling stablecoin assets to investors will be required to maintain robust reserves, adhere to rigorous transparency and anti-money laundering rules, and operate under enhanced regulatory supervision, which will essentially lessen restrictions on including stablecoins in 401(k) plans.
“For the first time in history, Congress has passed bi-partisan digital assets legislation through both the Senate and the House,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R–South Carolina). “The GENIUS Act marks a major milestone in securing America’s leadership in payments innovation while protecting consumers and strengthening our national security. This bill is critical to delivering on President Trump’s agenda to cement the United States as the crypto capital of the world, and I look forward to taking a similar approach to get digital asset market structure legislation signed into law. Digital assets and blockchain technology are here to stay, and it’s past time our regulatory framework acknowledges this reality.”
“Advancement of this bill to President Trump's desk marks a historic milestone for crypto entrepreneurs, financial market participants, and everyday Americans,” said Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins in a statement after the legislation passed the House. Last month, the SEC announced that it is withdrawing crypto custody management proposals that would have applied to investment managers.
In January, the SEC launched a crypto task force dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets, naming “CryptoMom” Hester Peirce to lead the new task force. The task force was introduced amid expectations of a shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto under the Trump administration. Earlier this month, SEC’s Crypto Task Force announced new guidance on disclosure requirements for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to cryptocurrencies, marking the first step toward approval of applications for ETFs. The crypto guidance will help speed up the approval process for these ETFs “as part of an effort to provide greater clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to crypto assets,” according to the SEC.
In May, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rolled back its Biden-era crypto warning, which effectively created a ban on including cryptocurrencies in 401(k) plans. However, the DOL reaffirmed its neutral stance, neither endorsing nor disapproving of plan fiduciaries who conclude that the inclusion of cryptocurrency in a plan’s investment menu is appropriate, according to a statement. “We’re rolling back this overreach and making it clear that investment decisions should be made by fiduciaries, not D.C. bureaucrats,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
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From: BenefitsPRO
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