401(k) providers that allow crypto
A crypto 401k is a 401(k), a retirement account you get through your job, that can hold crypto. Its provider is the company that runs it. Whether it can hold crypto depends on the provider and on your employer turning that option on.
Words in the table: crypto is digital money such as bitcoin; a crypto window is a part of the plan where you buy coins yourself; a brokerage window is an extra account some plans add for funds that are not on the plan's own list; an ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund you buy and sell the way you would buy a company's shares.
| Provider | Route to crypto | Limit | Cost | Held by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ForUsAllCoins inside the plan | A crypto window inside the plan, where you pick the coins yourself | No more than 5% of your savings, and 5% of each new amount taken from your pay | 0.15% each time you buy or sell, plus about 1% a year of what you hold there | Coinbase, a large crypto company, which keeps the coins off the internet for safety |
| FidelityBitcoin account, if your employer adds it | A bitcoin account in the plan (Fidelity calls it the Digital Assets Account), only if your employer adds it; or crypto ETFs through a brokerage window | Set by your employer | Shown in your plan's yearly fee notice | Fidelity Digital Asset Services, Fidelity's own crypto company |
| VanguardCrypto ETFs through a brokerage window | Crypto funds (ETFs) from other companies, only through a brokerage window if your plan has one | Set by your plan | The fund's own yearly fee plus your plan's fees | The fund, which hires a firm to store the coins |
| SchwabCrypto ETFs through a brokerage window | Funds that follow crypto prices, bought through Schwab's brokerage window if your plan offers one; no coins | Set by your plan | No fee for the window itself; you pay to buy or sell, plus each fund's yearly fee | The fund, which hires a firm to store the coins |
| EmpowerCrypto ETFs, if the brokerage window allows them | A brokerage window, if your employer offers one; the plan decides which funds it holds. Empower says crypto belongs only in funds run by professionals | Set by your plan | A charge to buy or sell, plus each fund's yearly fee | The fund company, for any fund you buy |
| No crypto path at these providers | ||||
| ADPNo crypto | No crypto: ADP's guide says crypto cannot be bought in its Schwab brokerage window, which holds ordinary funds and ETFs | Not offered | Not offered | Not offered |
| Guideline (Gusto)No crypto | No crypto; a fixed list of simple funds that follow the stock market | Not offered | Not offered | Not offered |
Each row comes from the provider's own pages. If your plan has none of these, money in an old 401(k) can still move to a crypto IRA, a retirement account you open yourself that can hold coins.
Crypto in 401(k) plans
The law allows crypto in a 401(k), but it doesn't require it. Your employer picks what appears on your plan's menu, so the same provider might offer crypto at one company while another workplace may not have it.
ERISA is the federal law covering workplace retirement plans. Back in 2022, the Labor Department urged employers to apply "extreme care" around crypto. Then, on May 28, 2025, the department withdrew that advice. It said the standard is not in ERISA, and that it neither backs nor opposes crypto.
On August 7, 2025, Executive Order 14330 was signed by the President. The order is meant to widen the range of investments 401(k) savings can reach. Still, neither move puts crypto into your plan on its own, since that choice remains with your employer.
Crypto 401(k) options
Most 401(k) paths to crypto use a fund rather than the coins directly. You own shares of the fund, and the fund holds the coins or follows their price. An ETF is a type of fund whose shares change hands the way a stock does. A spot crypto ETF owns the actual coins and tracks what they're worth.
These routes fall into 3 groups:
- An in-plan crypto window where you pick and keep the coins on your own, limited to a set share of your money.
- An in-plan bitcoin account your employer adds, up to a limit your employer chooses.
- A brokerage window that lets you buy crypto funds when the window allows them, up to a limit your plan chooses.
Certain plans skip all of this and stick to a set list of funds. If yours works that way, whatever the provider offers for crypto won't reach you unless your employer adds an option.
Does Empower allow crypto?
Actual coins aren't available in Empower's plans. When your employer makes it possible, Empower provides a self-directed brokerage account for mutual funds and ETFs. Your plan decides how much of your savings can go there and which funds it allows. A mutual fund pools many people's money and invests it for them.
For the plan's regular list of funds, Empower says crypto and other unusual investments should be offered only inside funds that experts run and check. Within the brokerage account, you'll cover trade costs along with the fees each fund charges.
When your plan offers no way into crypto
You can hold spot crypto funds in brokerage, trust, and IRA accounts as well. An IRA is a retirement account you set up on your own, apart from your job.
Savings sitting in a former employer's 401(k) may move into an IRA whenever you like. Savings in the plan at your current job can move while you're still employed only when the plan allows it. With a direct rollover, the old plan sends the money straight over to the new IRA. Pre-tax money went into the 401(k) before income tax was taken out. Moving pre-tax money into a traditional IRA this way means no tax is owed right now. A traditional IRA keeps that money untaxed until you take it out.
Taking a cash payout is a different story. Pulling money out early generally brings a 10% extra tax added to regular income tax.