Coinbase (COIN) Partnering With 401K Provider ForUsAll to Offer Crypto Retirement Investments

401k provider ForUsAll Inc is teaming up with the institutional branch of Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) to offer workers in plans it administers to allocate up to 5% of their 401(k) contributions in crypto investments, the Wall Street Journal reported.

ForUsAll, the group that provides automated 401(k) administration, affordable mutual funds, and access to human advisers, did not disclose how many of its 400 employer clients have signed up for the crypto platform.

The move comes amid rising interest in cryptocurrencies and that said, investing in digital currencies is currently not a part of 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.

“There is way too much volatility,” Lew Minsky, president of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, told the WSJ.

At the moment, the 401(k) industry is discussing including alternative investments such as private equity in its plans, according to Minsky. 1% of assets in customized target-date-funds are in private equity, while 2% belong to hedge funds, according to DCIIA. Minsky noted he did not know anything about his organization’s plans to offer crypto investments.

Financial services giants such as Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab Corp. do not offer customers the option to trade cryptocurrencies in taxable accounts or IRAs, however, the customers are able to invest in trusts that invest in cryptocurrencies from companies including Grayscale Investments LLC.

Supporters of crypto claim that allocating a small portion of a portfolio to cryptocurrencies can increase expected returns without being exposed to major risk, while other proponents argue cryptocurrencies can protect against inflation.

“This is just another asset class,” said Mike Alfred, head strategist at NYDIG.

Workers of companies who signed up for ForUsAll’s new offering will be able to invest up to 5% of their account balances in cryptocurrencies. Around 50 crypto assets will be available on the platform, said David Ramirez, CIO of ForUsAll.

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