Following approval, UK investors can once again hold cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes in a tax-free individual savings account, courtesy of fintech startup Stratiphy. This development comes after Stratiphy received the green light to offer these ETNs within a special class of ISA. As reported by the Financial Times, Stratiphy's platform allows users to personalize their investment strategies and offers both crypto ETNs and Innovative Finance ISAs. ISAs enable users to save up to £20,000 annually without incurring income tax or capital gains tax on returns.
The HMRC had previously classified crypto ETNs as instruments only available in IFISAs from the start of the current tax year. This move had rendered 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 provide access to three ETNs from 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of BTC and gold. With £4 million in assets under management for 2,000 retail and corporate clients, Stratiphy's CEO Daniel Gold noted that there is a significant level of interest in these crypto products, citing their potential to diversify portfolios as a new asset class with low correlation to other asset classes.