Senator Cynthia Lummis believes Bitcoin should be included in 401(k) retirement program in US
In an online interview with CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin, two US senators who introduced a new crypto regulation bill stated that Bitcoin is a great store of value and should be used to diversify assets in US retirement plans.
Senators v. Labor Department on BTC
Sorkin asked the opinion of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Cynthia Lummis about whether Bitcoin should indeed be included in the 401(k) retirement plan that requires U.S. employees to spend part of their salaries to their individual accounts to save up for their ret
Should #Bitcoin be able to be used in your retirement fund? @andrewrsorkin asks @SenLummis and @SenGillibrand: pic.twitter.com/ZGtwarFjR6
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) June 7, 2022
irement.
Sorkin reminded the senators that, earlier this year, Fidelity Investments was the first entity to offer the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin to add to employee pension plans (401[k]). Next up is Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge. The founder of this wealth management fund is a crypto advocate and the fund offers Bitcoin as one of the assets to invest in for its clients.
Sorkin recalled that the US Department of Labor at the time criticized the move by Fidelity, saying it was “a terrible idea.” However, Senators Gillibrand and Lummis disagree with them here.
Senator Lummis replied that she believes the Labor Department is wrong about that. According to Lummis, Bitcoin can be successfully used in two ways: as part of a diversified asset allocation for retirement and as a store of value.
Lummis says the right investment strategy includes those assets that can generate profits in the short term and those that will prevent the fund’s price from falling. Bitcoin could be one of the following, according to her, as BTC “really shines” as a store of value.
It is one of the hardest currencies to create, the senator added, and it is for this reason that it “belongs to part of a diversified asset allocation for retirement plans.”
Senator Gillibrand agrees with her and emphasizes the importance of the cryptocurrency bill she and Lummis introduced.
Under this bill, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies defined as “fully decentralized things” would be treated as commodities and would be regulated by the CFTC, as would cryptocurrencies. defined as “ancillary assets,” such as ADA and SOL, that are between commodities and securities. They will also be regulated by the aforementioned watchdog, along with BTC and ETH.
The securities will be overseen by the SEC, which is currently continuing its legal battle against Ripple Labs, claiming its XRP is unregistered security. This lawsuit has been going on since December 2020.
In addition, on June 6, the agency has begun investigating BNB – the native token of the Binance exchange – to see if it is a security. The report from CNBC does not specify exactly which coins may fall under the category of securities. Besides, according to the bill, all crypto transactions under $200 will be tax-free.
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