House Democrat Maxine Waters Files 11-Page Letter Opposing Crypto in Retirement Accounts

US Representative Maxine Waters has filed an 11-page comment letter with the Department of Labor asking it to withdraw a proposal that would open 401(k) retirement accounts to alternative investments including cryptocurrency.

The proposal stems from a Trump executive order signed in August 2025 directing his administration to give Americans the opportunity to invest their retirement savings in private equity, private credit, real estate, commodities and digital assets. The Labor Department followed up with a formal proposed rule in March.

Waters is not having it.

Why She Says the Timing Is Wrong

Her core argument cuts straight to the point the SEC is still building the investor protection framework that is supposed to make digital assets safe for ordinary investors, and the Labor Department wants to greenlight crypto for retirement accounts before that framework even exists.

“It is incoherent for the department to bless digital assets as suitable for the retirement savings of everyday Americans while the SEC is still building the investor-protection regime intended to make those same assets safe for ordinary investors,” Waters wrote in her letter to acting department secretary Keith Sonderling.

Why This Letter Could Matter More in November

Waters currently serves as ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee. If Democrats win the House majority in November which prediction markets currently put at an 82% likelihood she would return as committee chair. While that committee does not directly oversee the Labor Department’s 401(k) policies, it does oversee the SEC, giving Waters significant leverage over how digital assets are regulated more broadly.

The Labor Department’s proposal has not yet been finalized, meaning there is still time for the pushback to land.