As investment in cryptocurrency has become ever more mainstream, the capacity for cryptocurrency conversion has become a more important feature of accounts. For Volta Wallet holders, it opens up a new world of opportunities, both when converting one currency to another and also when converting crypto to fiat currency.
The importance of this is continually growing. It began with particular vendors starting to accept cryptocurrency as an alternative payment to fiat money, often at the top end of markets such as cars, jewellery and hotels. But the interaction between crypto and the ‘real world’ of investments is now breaking new ground.
A Game-Changer For Pension Savers
It will come as little surprise that the latest development has come from the United States. President Donald Trump, a big convert to the virtues and potential of cryptocurrency, promised a pro-crypto administration and, since taking office, has instigated various initiatives to this end.
In his latest executive order, President Trump has decreed that investors in 401(k) employee pension plans should have more access to putting their funds into alternative investments, which will now include cryptocurrency.
This will involve substantial rewriting of the rules over what meets the definition of a qualified asset under 401(k) rules and that will take a few months to complete, but this is set to open up a new front in cryptocurrency investment as a new group of savers explore the potential this may have to grow their pension pots.
Some might be concerned that the new investments may be riskier by nature, but those keen to invest, which could include existing cryptocurrency investors who also have 401(k) plans, may be excited by the possibilities.
Making Crypto More Mainstream
At the same time, the move adds to the growing list of ways in which cryptocurrency investment is making the transition from a niche investment to a mainstream one.
While this is clearly a central policy of the Trump administration, the approaches of other jurisdictions differ to varying extents.
El Salvador, for instance, became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal currency in 2021 and has just floated the idea of establishing ‘Bitcoin banks’, although a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund has seen the country buy precisely zero Bitcoins so far this year.
If El Salvador is an outlier, one may consider how advanced economies like the UK have responded to the opportunities, challenges and risks of crypto.
In April, the British government announced at a major Fintech summit in London that it had drafted proposed new regulations aimed at supporting crypto investors in the UK, designed to protect them from bad actors in the sector while supporting innovation.
“Through our Plan for Change, we are making Britain the best place in the world to innovate – and the safest place for consumers,” said the chancellor Rachel Reeves. She added: “Robust rules around crypto will boost investor confidence, support the growth of Fintech and protect people across the UK.”
A Special Crypto Relationship?
Perhaps just as significantly, the government made it clear it was not working alone, but had been in talks with the US government about collaboration on regulations and investments, among these ideas were proposals forwarded by Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce for a transatlantic sandbox for digital securities’.
Further talks are planned and it may be that the 401(k) measure could lead to further responses in the UK, including allowing crypto to be a greater part of pension fund investments here as well.
At the same time, some of the cryptoasset regulation plans in the UK remain very much a work in progress. The Financial Conduct Authority has devised a roadmap for the development of new crypto regulations, with dates for when new rules are set to be put in place for the sector.
Under these plans, the final proposals for the new regulations will be published early next year and then, once legislation is passed, implemented later in 2026.
This does give time for consideration of how the new rules in the US will work and how involved UK-based operators may be with a form of asset that is, by definition, global and not tied to the central bank of any nation state.
Opportunities Ahead
Quite apart from the details of the new regulations that may come into place and the nature of any collaborations between the UK and US, the sheer fact that a new form of crypto investment opportunity is opening up makes the use of such assets ever more prominent and, in doing so, may raise their value as demand increases.
With a Volta card and wallet, those who are well-equipped now to take advantage of the opportunities in the market may find there are many more coming their way soon.