What happened? Hargreaves Lansdown warned investors to avoid crypto even as the UK lifted its ban on retail crypto ETNs.
Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s biggest retail investment platform, told clients that Bitcoin isn’t an asset class and advised against adding crypto to portfolios. This came after regulators allowed retail access to crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and made them eligible for ISAs. Despite that, some big banks and asset managers remain bullish and institutional interest is growing.
Who does this affect? Retail investors, platform clients, asset managers and the crypto industry are all on the hook.
Retail investors who might use ETNs or ISAs to buy crypto are most directly affected, since these products are now available on regulated exchanges. Hargreaves Lansdown’s stance could discourage cautious savers even though it plans to let “appropriate clients” trade ETNs from 2026. At the same time, exchanges, asset managers and crypto firms will feel the impact as demand, regulatory clarity, and product flows shift.
Why does this matter? It changes market access and could shift capital flows between traditional and crypto assets.
Allowing ETNs and ISA inclusion opens the door to significant new retail money, which could boost liquidity and price influence in crypto markets. But big platforms publicly advising caution may slow retail adoption and keep volatility high, complicating portfolio construction for investors. Over the longer term, growing institutional interest and the UK’s push for tokenized financial infrastructure could help mature the market and change how investors allocate across asset classes.