UK investors can once again benefit from tax-free cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) after Stratiphy, a fintech startup, received approval to offer them in a specialized individual savings account (ISA). According to a Financial Times report, Stratiphy will provide both crypto ETNs and Innovative Finance ISAs, allowing users to invest up to 20,000 pounds per year without paying income tax or capital gains tax on returns. The UK's tax authority, HMRC, had previously classified crypto ETNs as available only in IFISAs, rendering last year's decision to lift the ban on retail access to crypto ETNs redundant. Stratiphy will offer access to three ETNs from 21Shares, covering bitcoin, ether, and a combination of bitcoin and gold.
The company, which manages 4 million pounds for 2,000 clients, sees significant interest in these products as a means to diversify portfolios with a new asset class that has low correlation to other asset classes.