Labor Department rescinds its special 'extreme care' cryptocurrency guidance
Regulation · · Ketju Research
What changed
EBSA rescinded its 2022 cryptocurrency compliance release in full and returned to a neutral, context-specific application of ordinary ERISA fiduciary principles rather than a special 'extreme care' formulation.
Who it affects
- ERISA plan fiduciaries and committees
- Advisers and consultants serving retirement plans
- Service providers offering digital-asset investment exposure to plans
What is still open
- Whether a particular digital-asset option is prudent for a specific plan
- Operational, valuation, custody, liquidity, cybersecurity, and participant-communication requirements
- How future enforcement and guidance will apply ordinary fiduciary principles
What it means for an advisor
- Update policies that quote the rescinded 2022 release as current DOL guidance
- Retain a documented, context-specific ERISA prudence process
- Do not present rescission as DOL endorsement of cryptocurrency in retirement plans
Previous interpretation
The 2022 release directed plan fiduciaries to exercise 'extreme care' before adding cryptocurrency to a 401(k) investment menu.
Sources
- Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 · U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration · · effective
Version 1, published . Educational analysis, not legal advice.