Even if bitcoin is seen as a long-term investment asset, some say it is hard to give it a large weight in retirement funds. They cite the need to prioritise volatility and the risk of losses at the time of withdrawals after retirement over the potential for high returns.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Monday that the pension industry and asset managers are increasingly saying bitcoin should be used in a limited proportion rather than included as a core asset in retirement portfolios. In a survey by the U.S. Retirement Security Institute, 77 percent of respondents viewed including cryptocurrencies in workplace retirement plans as risky.

Some institutions are leaving room to include bitcoin if the allocation is appropriate. BlackRock suggested that for investors who can tolerate risk, a 1 to 2 percent bitcoin allocation in a diversified portfolio could be reasonable. Fidelity analysed that adding bitcoin at about 2 to 5 percent in a retirement portfolio could help improve long-term performance.

Ryan Firth, a digital-asset-focused financial planner, said the approach should be to replace part of other assets rather than simply add cryptocurrency to an existing portfolio. In general, he said it is desirable for assets allocated to cryptocurrency not to exceed 5 percent of total investable assets.

The problem is that bitcoin's high volatility can be more fatal for retirees. Younger investors may have time to wait until the market recovers after a sharp drop, but around retirement there is a greater chance of having to withdraw assets to cover living expenses. Selling assets in a falling market makes it harder to recoup losses even if prices later recover.

Retirement researcher Bill Bengen, who laid the groundwork for the 4 percent withdrawal rule often cited as a standard for managing retirement assets, also viewed capital preservation as the top task for retirement portfolios. While acknowledging that bitcoin can be useful in a portfolio, he recommended limiting the allocation to within 5 percent to prevent large losses.

Institutional investors are also cautious in their approach. Some pension funds and large investors are investing indirectly in bitcoin through regulated spot bitcoin ETFs. Another strategy in use is to gain exposure to industry growth by investing in related companies rather than in cryptocurrencies themselves.

CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension fund, is known to have invested in Strategy, which has the largest corporate bitcoin holdings. CalSTRS, a large pension fund for teachers, is also choosing to invest in crypto-related companies such as Coinbase without holding bitcoin directly.

Experts say the questions of whether bitcoin will rise in the long term and whether it can be borne as retirement funds are separate issues. Even if someone believes bitcoin will grow over the long term, it means they should not bet their entire retirement assets on whether prices recover.

Jonathan Parker (조너선 파커), a Massachusetts Institute of Technology finance professor, also suggested that while cryptocurrencies may have a place in a diversified retirement portfolio, investors could consider buying equity or debt of companies that generate actual revenue in the crypto industry rather than bitcoin itself.

Ultimately, this discussion is focused not on whether to exclude cryptocurrency from retirement funds, but on what level of risk can be included. Even if long-term growth potential is acknowledged, allocating only a small portion to prevent retirement assets from being damaged by high volatility is becoming the realistic approach in the pension and asset-management industry.