Indiana Governor Signs Law Letting Residents Hold Crypto in Retirement Plans

The affected plans include the Legislators' Defined Contribution Retirement Plan, the Hoosier START College Savings Plan, and specified plans under the Public Employees' Retirement Fund and the Teachers' Retirement Fund.

Beyond retirement, the bill carries broad protections. Public agencies, except the Department of Financial Institutions, are barred from enforcing rules that limit individuals' ability to accept crypto as payment for legal goods and services, or to hold assets in self-hosted or hardware wallets. The bill also prohibits the state from imposing special taxes on crypto activities that don't apply to other financial transactions.

Indiana's bill is distinct from similar laws in other states in that it directly mandates access to digital assets within public retirement frameworks.Oklahoma signed a crypto investor protection bill in November 2024, and Kentucky followed in March 2025, but neither included the retirement mandate that defines Indiana's approach.

The move places Indiana among at least 21 states that are investing in or evaluating bitcoin and other digital assets for public funds, in line with former President Donald Trump's push to expand U.S. crypto holdings.At the federal level, President Trump last August signed an executive order allowing 401(k) retirement plans to include crypto investment options.

Indiana has simultaneously advanced a contrasting measure: lawmakers also passed a separate bill that would ban crypto ATMs statewide, responding to law enforcement reports of rising fraud. In Evansville alone, residents lost approximately $400,000 in scams connected to these machines in 2025.

Most provisions of HB 1042 take effect July 1, 2026, with the retirement brokerage requirement phased in by July 1, 2027.