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The crypto market jumped Thursday on excitement that bitcoin and other digital assets could soon be coming to 401(k) retirement plans.
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that would allow 401(k) accounts to invest in alternative assets, including private equity, real estate and digital assets, CNBC has confirmed.
The price of bitcoin climbed around 1% to reclaim the $116,000 level for the first time since July 31. Ether rose more than 4%, also returning to a one-week high.
Crypto-linked stocks got a boost of energy as well in premarket trading. Coinbase gained 2%, Circle advanced more than 3%, and ether treasury stocks Bitmine Immersion rose 4%, while Sharplink Gaming rallied 7%.
Bitcoin (BTC) 1-month
Widespread inclusion of bitcoin in Americans’ retirement accounts has long been viewed as a holy grail for crypto adoption. Conceivably, it would make it a mainstay of U.S. financial infrastructure, expand access and encourage longer-term investing in the asset. The retirement market is currently worth $43 trillion.
“That’s a monster pool of capital. What we’re seeing … [is] the aperture of being able to buy crypto being widened and widened, [and] more avenues bringing people into the tent,” Galaxy CEO Michael Novogratz told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday.
“When it becomes commonplace – when you can do it at the place you’ve already been doing business with, if its Fidelity or T. Rowe Price or whoever it is – you just pull more people into this ecosystem,” he added.
Fidelity has taken a first step in creating options to allow bitcoin allocation into its 401(k)s, but it hinges on employer adoption of the offering, which has so far been low.
The executive order, first reported by Bloomberg, is the latest in a series of efforts under the Trump administration to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.” In July, he signed stablecoin legislation known as the GENIUS Act into the first official U.S. crypto law.
