UK investors can now utilize a tax-free investment vehicle for cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) following Stratiphy's approval to offer them in an Individual Savings Account (ISA). According to a Financial Times report, Stratiphy, a fintech platform allowing users to personalize their investment strategies, provides both crypto ETNs and Innovative Finance ISAs (IFISAs). ISAs enable users to save up to £20,000 annually without paying income tax or capital gains tax on returns. At the end of February, the UK's tax authority, HMRC, reclassified crypto ETNs as IFISA-exclusive instruments starting from the current tax year.
This move rendered last year's decision to lift the ban on retail access to crypto ETNs redundant, as mainstream platforms did not offer IFISAs with crypto products. Stratiphy will offer access to three 21Shares ETNs: bitcoin, ether, and a combination of BTC and gold. With £4 million in assets under management for 2,000 clients, Stratiphy's CEO Daniel Gold noted a significant interest in these products, citing their potential for portfolio diversification as a new asset class with low correlation to others.