Following approval, UK investors can once again utilize a tax-free account to hold cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes, courtesy of fintech startup Stratiphy. The company has been given the green light to offer these ETNs within a specialized category of individual savings account known as an ISA. According to a Financial Times report, Stratiphy provides both crypto ETNs and Innovative Finance ISAs, allowing users to tailor their investment strategies. ISAs enable users to save up to 20,000 pounds annually, exempt from income tax and capital gains tax on returns.
At the end of February, the UK's tax authority reclassified crypto ETNs as instruments available only in IFISAs from the start of the current tax year. This decision made the previous year's move to lift the ban on retail users accessing crypto ETNs redundant, as no mainstream investment platform offered IFISAs with crypto products.
Stratiphy will provide access to three ETNs from 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of BTC and gold. The platform, which launched in August last year, manages 4 million pounds for 2,000 clients and has noted a significant interest in these crypto products, citing their potential to diversify portfolios with low correlation to other asset classes.