United States senators Richard Durbin, Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith have once again criticized Fidelity Investments' plan to add bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) to its 401(k) options.
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In a Monday letter to Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson, the senators have urged the investment giant to "seriously reconsider" its decision to allow plan sponsors to offer bitcoin exposure to plan participants. The group said:
"By many measures, we are already in a retirement security crisis, and it should not be made worse by exposing retirement savings to unnecessary risk."
The senators also pointed out that the recent collapse of FTX made it "abundantly clear" that the crypto industry has "serious problems." According to the lawmakers, the crypto industry is "full of charismatic wunderkinds, opportunistic fraudsters, and self-proclaimed investment advisors promoting financial products with little to no transparency."
This is not the first time the group urges Fidelity to change its position on the bitcoin plan. In July, the senators raised a set of various concerns about potential risks and financial dangers posed by bitcoin in 401k retirement plan.
Fidelity first announced about its plan to include bitcoin in 401k in April this year. Dave Gray, Head of Workplace Retirement Offerings and Platforms at Fidelity, said the inclusion of bitcoin is in the interest of investors as they need a "diverse set of products."
The US Labor Department pointed out however that employers planning to add support for crypto should expect questions about "how they can square their actions with their duties of prudence and loyalty" under US pension law.
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