Investors in the United Kingdom can now hold cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes in a tax-free account after Stratiphy, a fintech startup, received approval to offer them in a special class of individual savings account. This development follows a report by the Financial Times, stating that Stratiphy will provide access to three ETNs offered by 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of bitcoin and gold. The UK's tax authority had previously classified crypto ETNs as instruments only available in Innovative Finance ISAs from the start of the current tax year.
This move had made last year's decision to lift the ban on retail users accessing crypto ETNs redundant, as no mainstream investment platform offered IFISAs with crypto products. Stratiphy, which manages 4 million pounds for 2,000 clients, will offer these ETNs in a tax-free wrapper, allowing users to save up to 20,000 pounds a year without paying income tax or capital gains tax on the returns.