Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), the UK's largest direct-to-consumer investment platform, has begun offering crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) to its everyday clients. The new offering gives millions of retail investors regulated exposure to Bitcoin and Ether, nearly a year after the ban on retail access was lifted.

How do crypto ETNs work?

Hargreaves Lansdown, which holds over a third of the UK market, now offers crypto ETNs to its customers. Crypto ETNs track the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum, but investors do not actually own the coins, and there are no wallets or private keys to manage. Instead, the notes are issued by a bank or financial firm that physically holds the cryptocurrencies in custody.

This structure allows millions of everyday investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin and Ether through a regulated product, almost a year after the ban was lifted. The products are available through the firm's Advanced Investing hub.

According to the Boring Money Market Monitor Q3 2025 report, HL holds a 33.6% share of the UK direct-to-consumer market by assets under administration — more than double the 17.0% share held by second-placed Interactive Investor. The firm also runs the country's most-used self-invested personal pension (SIPP). Because of that reach, HL's decision to offer crypto ETNs effectively sets a benchmark for how mainstream UK platforms treat crypto-linked products; when the largest platform moves, smaller rivals often face pressure to clarify their own stances.

HL is charging a 0.35% annual account fee to hold crypto ETNs in a Fund and Share Account or a SIPP, capped at £12.50 per month. Dealing charges run between £3.95 and £6.95 per trade.

The company bluntly warns that buyers should be prepared to lose everything they invest, adding that if the note's issuer goes bankrupt, the money can vanish. HL suggests such holdings make up only a small slice of an already diversified portfolio. Revolut's guidance also makes clear that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not cover crypto ETNs, and that the products carry the full volatility of the assets they track. This issuer-credit risk is a key distinction between ETNs and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which hold underlying assets separately from the issuer's balance sheet.

Why were retail investors banned from buying crypto?

The ban keeping retail investors away from crypto ETNs was implemented in 2021, when the FCA judged the products too high-risk for everyday consumers. However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) changed its approach in June 2025 and formally allowed retail access to certain crypto ETNs listed on recognized UK exchanges from 8 October 2025 (see the FCA's decision).

After the change, companies including 21Shares, Bitwise, WisdomTree, and BlackRock listed Bitcoin and Ether ETNs on the London Stock Exchange.

The catch lies in how these products are taxed. HM Revenue & Customs confirmed that from 8 October 2025, crypto ETNs would initially qualify inside Stocks and Shares ISAs, the account most UK savers actually use, according to the government's policy paper.

However, from April 6 this year, HMRC reclassified the products as qualifying investments only within the Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). Investors who already held the notes in a Stocks and Shares ISA were not required to sell. The move effectively narrows the tax-advantaged wrapper most savers can use for these products, and further HMRC or FCA decisions on ISA eligibility remain the main thing to watch for anyone holding or considering crypto ETNs on a platform like HL.

Trade body CryptoUK has argued that the reclassification goes against the FCA's work to open up access. It noted that around 15 million Britons subscribed to an ISA in the 2023–24 tax year, while the IFISA is used by well under 1% of ISA holders.