NIRS Survey: 77% of Americans Call Bitcoin (BTC) Risky in Retirement

A new survey from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) reveals that 77% of Americans view cryptocurrency in retirement plans as risky, and 46% consider it very risky. The poll, conducted by Greenwald Research among 1,203 U.S. adults, also shows that 80% of respondents now say the country faces a retirement crisis, up from 67% in 2020, while 61% fear they will not be financially secure after they stop working. Inflation worries 73% of savers, market swings concern 62%, and 76% fear Social Security cuts if Congress does not act. The savings backdrop explains the anxiety: nearly half of Americans have less than $100,000 put away, and 18% have nothing at all. Only 9% of respondents knew that a $100,000 nest egg would generate roughly $4,000 in first-year retirement income under a standard withdrawal rule. Moreover, 53% oppose employers offering crypto at all, and 84% say Washington leaders do not understand their retirement struggles. Bitcoin (BTC) trades near $78,092 at press time, leaving employers stuck between regulators who now allow crypto in retirement menus and a workforce that overwhelmingly calls it risky. Dan Doonan, NIRS executive director, said the findings show “retirement security is becoming harder to achieve as they struggle with the affordability of everyday life,” with housing, healthcare, and debt competing against saving for retirement. The trust deficit is stark: 76% view traditional pensions favorably, the oldest product on the shelf.

Washington has spent the past year pulling in the opposite direction from saver sentiment. In 2022, the Labor Department told employers to use “extreme care” before adding cryptocurrency to 401(k) plans, but it scrapped that guidance in May 2025. President Trump’s August 2025 executive order, titled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets,” went further, directing the department to open 401(k)s to alternative assets including crypto funds. Days later, regulators rescinded a 2021 statement that had discouraged such assets. A new proposed rule followed in March, and critics have warned about fiduciary risks since the original order. The policy shift is clear: the regulatory apparatus is moving to embrace digital assets in retirement menus, and the proposed rule is still under review as the industry adapts. Yet the NIRS survey, released this week, shows savers are not following. Beyond the 77% who call crypto in retirement plans risky, 53% oppose employers offering crypto at all, and 84% say Washington leaders do not understand their retirement struggles. This disconnect is central to the adoption debate. Bitcoin (BTC), the largest crypto asset, trades near $78,092, and its price has been subdued as the retirement industry weighs these conflicting signals. Plan sponsors now have the legal freedom to include crypto, but the reputational and fiduciary risks remain, as the survey makes clear.

The divergence between regulatory progress and retirement-saver skepticism is the crux of Bitcoin’s adoption story in the U.S. The Labor Department’s policy reversal and the Trump order have opened the door for crypto in 401(k)s, but the NIRS data shows that trust is not following. This suggests that institutional and policy-level acceptance does not automatically translate into retail retirement allocations. The on-chain data indicates that Bitcoin’s price has remained rangebound, reflecting a market that is still waiting for a catalyst to break the deadlock. As the proposed rule moves through the comment period, the outcome may determine whether the gap narrows. For now, plan sponsors are caught between two mandates: regulatory permission and client reticence. Whether adoption grows will likely depend on which side blinks first, and the 77% risk perception is a high hurdle for Bitcoin to clear. The coming months will test whether the regulatory tailwind can overcome the trust deficit, as the retirement industry watches the proposed rule's fate.