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U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing cryptocurrencies to be included in 401(k) retirement accounts, local media outlets including cryptocurrency specialist Coindesk reported on the 7th (local time).

Coindesk assessed that this opens a path for tens of billions of dollars in funds to flow into the digital asset market, as 401(k) is one of the retirement accounts in the United States.

Currently, the U.S. retirement pension market is valued at $43 trillion, of which approximately $9 trillion is held in 401(k)s. This is comparable to the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market.

This executive order allows 401(k) accounts to invest in alternative assets such as private equity and real estate, in addition to cryptocurrencies.

While investments in cryptocurrencies through retirement accounts were not explicitly prohibited before, the Department of Labor had previously recommended through its guidelines that "fiduciaries looking to add cryptocurrency options to 401(k) plans should exercise extreme caution."

However, these guidelines were withdrawn in May, and the executive order now directs the Department of Labor to establish new guidelines, placing cryptocurrencies on an equal footing with other investment assets, Coindesk reported.

Consequently, asset management firms and investment managers who had previously avoided cryptocurrencies due to their perceived risks are now turning their attention to them, with expectations that millions of dollars could flow into Bitcoin or related cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, a cryptocurrency-focused asset management firm, said, "401(k) is a truly enormous capital pool. What's happening now is that the gateways for people to access cryptocurrencies are widening, and more and more avenues are drawing people into this ecosystem."

Following President Trump's signature, cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are experiencing a general rise.

As of 6:53 PM Eastern Time that day (7:53 AM Korean time on the 8th), the price of one Bitcoin was trading at $117,595, up 2.10% from 24 hours prior.

This is the first time this month that Bitcoin has surpassed the $117,000 mark.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, rose 5.67% to $3,904, approaching the $4,000 mark. XRP (Ripple) surged 9.56% to trade at $3.29, nearing the recovery of the $3.30 level. Solana and Dogecoin also rose by 3.59% and 7.65% respectively, trading at $174 and $0.22.

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