UK investors can once again benefit from holding cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in a tax-free account, following Stratiphy's approval to offer them in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). This development comes after the fintech startup received the green light, as reported by the Financial Times.
Stratiphy, a platform that enables users to personalize their investment strategies, will provide access to both crypto ETNs and IFISAs, which are authorized to invest in them. IFISAs allow users to save up to £20,000 per year without incurring income tax or capital gains tax on returns. At the end of February, the UK's tax authority, HMRC, classified crypto ETNs as instruments only available in IFISAs from the start of the current tax year. This move had previously made the decision to lift the ban on retail users accessing crypto ETNs redundant, as no mainstream investment platform offered IFISAs with crypto products.
Stratiphy will offer access to three ETNs provided by 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of BTC and gold. The London-based investment platform, which launched in August last year, currently manages £4 million for 2,000 retail and corporate clients. According to CEO Daniel Gold, there is a significant level of interest in these crypto products, which offer a new asset class with low correlation to other asset classes, making them an interesting way to diversify a portfolio.