Following approval, UK investors are once again able to hold cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes in a tax-free vehicle, thanks to fintech startup Stratiphy. The company will provide access to three ETNs from 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of BTC and gold, within a special class of individual savings account known as an Innovative Finance ISA.
This development allows investors to save up to £20,000 per year without incurring income tax or capital gains tax on their returns. Stratiphy's platform enables users to personalize their investment strategies and offers both crypto ETNs and IFISAs. The move comes after the UK's tax authority, HMRC, classified crypto ETNs as instruments only available in IFISAs from the start of the current tax year. This decision had previously made last year's lifting of the ban on retail users accessing crypto ETNs redundant, as no mainstream investment platforms offered IFISAs with crypto products.
Stratiphy, which manages £4 million for 2,000 retail and corporate clients, will provide a new avenue for investors to diversify their portfolios with a new asset class that has low correlation to other asset classes.