A move into Australia’s pensions through SMSFs is being made by Coinbase and OKX, while rules on how crypto fits into retirement plans are being revamped in the United States.
Services for self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) in Australia are being introduced by two of the largest centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and OKX. This is giving individuals new ways to have cryptocurrency added to the country’s retirement savings system.
While digital assets have been able to be held by Australians in SMSFs for several years, that access is now being packaged into dedicated products by Coinbase and OKX, as was reported by Bloomberg on Monday.
Instead of investors being left to set up their own structures and have custody managed independently, services are being offered by the exchanges. These services combine referrals to accountants and law firms with integrated custody and record-keeping that is needed to meet audit requirements.
SMSFs, which account for about a quarter of Australia’s retirement pool, were shown to have held about A1.7billion(US1.1 billion) in digital assets as of March 2025, according to the Australian Tax Office. That total has been increased sevenfold since 2021, making SMSFs the first part of the system to have significant crypto exposure shown.
Bloomberg was told by Coinbase that more than 500 investors have joined the waiting list for its SMSF service, and up to A$100,000 each in digital assets is being planned for allocation by most. A similar offering was launched by OKX in June, and it has been said that demand has exceeded expectations.
Barriers for mainstream investors are lowered by the shift. This marks one of the first organized efforts that has been made by major exchanges to have a retirement system tapped into that ranks among the largest in the world on a per-capita basis.
US Revamps Rules for Crypto in Retirement Plans
Australia’s experiment with SMSFs is coming as it is being weighed by other major economies how retirement money should interact with digital assets. The United States is being noted as most notable.
Fidelity Investments was the first major provider to have crypto tested in retirement. A Bitcoin 401(k) option was launched by it in April 2022. The product initially had participants allowed to allocate up to 20% of their savings to Bitcoin BTC $110,369 if employers opted in. However, pushback was quickly drawn from the Department of Labor. Fiduciaries were warned by the Department of Labor to have ‘extreme care’ exercised with crypto exposure.
That position was held until May 2025, when its cautionary guidance was formally rescinded by the Labor Department, and discretion was restored to plan sponsors.
On Aug. 7, the most notable advancement for crypto in US retirement policy came when an executive order was signed by US President Donald Trump. The order was titled ‘Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.’
The Department of Labor was directed by the order to have retirement-plan rules revisited. This paved the way for alternative assets like cryptocurrencies to be included in 401(k)s and other defined-contribution accounts.
It was, unsurprisingly, met with both praise and criticism. The order was welcomed by Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who said that ‘The federal government should not be making retirement investment decisions for hardworking Americans, including decisions regarding alternative assets… This Executive Order further supports our efforts to have flexibility improved and unfair one-size-fits-all approaches eliminated.
But it was warned by critics that savers could be put at risk. A statement was given by Chris Noble, who is the policy director at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, in which he said that the move could ‘primarily have private equity firms benefited at the expense of retirement security for millions of Americans.’
Increasing concerns about potential conflicts of interest are also being had. Alongside the passing of crypto-friendly legislation and executive orders, heavy investment in the space is being made by Trump and his family.
On Monday, its trading debut was made by the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token, which is a project backed by the Trump family. This came after about a quarter of its supply was sold in a private offering that had more than $500 million raised.
