Overview
- Hargreaves Lansdown has made nine physically backed Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded notes available to eligible users through its Advanced Investing service after building investor-assessment controls.
- Customers must self-certify as advanced investors, pass an online appropriateness assessment and wait a 24-hour cooling-off period before they can view or buy the ETNs.
- The ETNs give price exposure only and do not grant direct ownership of crypto, wallets, private keys or staking rights because the underlying assets are held by regulated custodians.
- Bitwise has a confirmed distribution arrangement with Hargreaves Lansdown and has cut its Core Bitcoin ETP fee to 0.05%, while other established issuers such as BlackRock and WisdomTree also supply products to UK platforms.
- The rollout follows the FCA’s October 2025 lift of its retail ban for physically backed BTC and ETH products and treats these instruments as Restricted Mass Market Investments with an expected roughly 10% portfolio cap that may limit retail uptake.