Trump's 401(k) move could unlock billions for crypto, says Reserve Exec

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Trump's 401(k) move could unlock billions for crypto, says Reserve Exec originally appeared on TheStreet.
Thomas Mattimore, co-founder of Reserve, says President Donald Trump's recent executive order opening 401(k) plans to alternative assets marks a watershed moment for innovation — with crypto standing to benefit.
Reserve is a permissionless platform enabling anyone to launch, mint, and govern on-chain crypto indexes — called Decentralized Token Folios (DTFs) — that function like ETFs but with full transparency and 24/7 redemption.'This isn't just a pro crypto change, but it's a pro innovation change,' Mattimore said in an interview with TheStreet Roundtable.
'For a huge swath of the population who uses 401(k)s as their savings mechanism, they've been very limited. Crypto is the fastest growing asset, best performing asset of anything in the last decade.'
Accessibility and new products
Until now, most Americans have only accessed crypto through exchanges or exchange-traded funds. Mattimore said the new order could quickly expand that landscape.
'There's actually only one 401(k) provider that gives people access to native crypto assets today,' he said. 'This executive order is taking the stigma off of crypto as opposed to encouraging it.'
He expects that index-style products will dominate retirement accounts, mirroring traditional markets. 'For the last 30 plus years we've seen an explosion in index investing, specifically ETFs,' Mattimore said.
'I expect that it's going to be the same for crypto over time. At Reserve, we're building DTFs, which are like ETFs in crypto.'
Standards and scale
Mattimore pointed to encouraging signals from regulators. 'We've seen and heard a lot from the SEC this year encouraging transparency and encouraging good acting from various different players in the space,' he said.
'For something like retirement accounts, transparency and the trustability so that people can actually understand what they're getting into is critical.'
On yield-bearing products, Mattimore argued it's only a matter of time. 'Offering exposure to crypto assets without some of the staking or without some of the underlying yield just wouldn't make sense,' he said.
Looking at the bigger picture, Mattimore said the inflows could be massive. 'The estimate on the size of the 401(k) accounts is seven and a half to eight trillion,' he said.
'One percent of 8 trillion is still $80 billion. That would still be quite a bit of inflows.'
Ultimately, he views the policy as a turning point. 'This executive order is really removing the stigma from enabling people to get involved in this innovative sector,' Mattimore said.
'I'm really excited for rule-based index investing to come to the crypto space.'
Trump's 401(k) move could unlock billions for crypto, says Reserve Exec first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 19, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.