A group of US Senators has written a letter to Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, demanding an explanation for the decision to include bitcoin as an option in 401(k) retirement savings accounts.
The management company intended to add a similar feature this summer. The option will be available to employees of the 23,000 companies that use Fidelity to manage their $2.7 trillion in retirement plans.
Representatives from the Democratic Party Dick Durbin, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith stressed in their address that the money earned went to citizens with "great difficulty" for investments in a "cryptocurrency casino".
"The choice is quite important. Why is Fidelity enabling [...] to accept the risk of an unproven, extremely volatile, and unregulated asset like bitcoin when retirement funds are already an issue for so many Americans? they questioned.
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The message contained no prohibition or threats.
In an interview with CoinDesk, company representatives announced the postponement of the product launch to the fall. They stressed that they are in close dialogue with legislators.
Recall that in April 2022, Warren compared cryptocurrencies with the US mortgage crisis.
A month later, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama introduced a bill allowing US citizens to accumulate cryptocurrency in 401(k) retirement savings accounts.
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Earlier, the US Department of Labor reported "serious concerns" regarding the Fidelity Investments initiative.
In 2020, in the US, pension plans with investments in the first cryptocurrency were offered by DAiM, as well as Bitwage with Gemini.