FourUsAll Sues Department of Labor Over Crypto in 401Ks

FourUsAll, a “tech-Enabled 401(k) advisor,” has sued the US Department of Labor over guidance issued regarding firms allowing savers to include crypto in their retirement savings accounts.

FourUsAll aims to be the first enabler to offer secure access to cryptocurrency. ForUsAll touts its intent to cap crypto allocations at 5% of the initial balance, plus 5% of ongoing contributions. The service is powered by  Coinbase Institutional, allowing participants to trade crypto assets within their 401(k) accounts.

The guidance provided by the DOL earlier this year cautioned plan fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care before they consider adding a cryptocurrency option to a 401(k) .” The Employee Benefits Security Administration, part of DOL, is expected to investigate plans that offer participant investments in cryptocurrencies and related products.

The lawsuit filed by FourUsAll attacks the Department of Labor’s overreach:

“This lawsuit seeks to preserve the rights of American investors to choose how to invest money in their own retirement accounts. Brought under the APA, this lawsuit challenges DOL’s arbitrary and capricious attempt to restrict the use of cryptocurrency in defined contribution retirement plans, in excess of its authority under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), and without following the notice and comment process required under the APA. Cryptocurrency is a widely accepted asset class. Tens of millions of Americans have included it in their portfolios, as have some of the nation’s largest institutional investors, including Harvard University’s endowment. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has formally declared it to be the policy of the United States to “promote” the development and use of cryptocurrency. No asset class is presumptively imprudent under ERISA. ERISA does not mandate paternalism with respect to participant investments.”

FourUsAll is not alone in providing access to crypto in retirement accounts as other platforms have warmed to the idea of providing asset diversification along with growing consumer demand.

The filing asserts that the DOL must operate within its statutory authority, something FourUsAll claims the agency has transgressed.

The demand is for the DOL to vacate and set aside the aforementioned statement by the agency addressing crypto as it is “arbitrary, capricious, and otherwise not in accordance with [the] law, and in excess of DOL’s statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, and is therefore unlawful…”



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