I have to hand it to Fidelity. For their nerves of steel, at least. The company that runs America’s biggest 401(k) platform is sticking with its plans to offer bitcoin in retirement plans. This is despite the $2 trillion collapse in the cryptocurrency market in just over a year, during which time bitcoin has lost as much as 80% of its value — and many of its competitors have lost 100%.
This is also despite the exploding dumpster fire of crypto giant FTX, which has collapsed in spectacular fashion along with the reputation of its well-connected, media favorite founder Sam Bankman-Fried. And this is despite yet another letter from various senators, including the senior senator for Fidelity’s home commonwealth of Massachusetts, pleading with them to reconsider. “Once again, we strongly urge Fidelity Investments to reconsider its decision to allow 401(k) plan sponsors to expose plan participants to bitcoin,” wrote Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Tina Smith of Minnesota in an open letter to Abigail Johnson, the chief executive and majority owner of Fidelity. “The recent implosion of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, has made it abundantly clear the digital asset industry has serious problems,” they wrote. “The industry is full of charismatic wunderkinds, opportunistic fraudsters, and self-proclaimed investment advisers promoting financial products with little to no transparency. As a result, the ill-advised, deceptive, and potentially illegal actions of a …