Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the UK’s largest retail investment platforms, has warned that bitcoin should not be treated as a core part of investment portfolios — even as it prepares to offer crypto products to clients for the first time. In a statement published on its website, the Bristol-based firm said bitcoin, despite its long-term price gains, “is not an asset class” and lacks the intrinsic characteristics that would justify including it in a portfolio for growth or income. Hargreaves Lansdown argued that the cryptocurrency’s price history shows periods of “extreme losses,” adding that performance assumptions are impossible to analyze and that the asset “shouldn’t be relied upon” to help clients meet financial goals. The company’s remarks come shortly after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ended its nearly four-year ban on crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for retail investors. Hargreaves Lansdown said it plans to take several months to develop what it calls a “balanced client journey,” ensuring customers receive detailed risk warnings and pass an appropriateness assessment before being allowed to invest. Clients who qualify will typically face a 10% portfolio cap on crypto exposure under FCA rules. The firm also highlighted new regulatory conditions for the UK market. The FCA will only allow crypto ETNs that are physically backed by bitcoin or ether — meaning they are supported by reserves of the underlying assets — and that are listed on a Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE) such as the London Stock Exchange. These restrictions are intended to bring crypto products under the same disclosure, transparency, and investor-protection standards that apply to traditional securities. While bitcoin’s inclusion in conventional portfolios remains a step too far for Hargreaves Lansdown, it acknowledged that some clients will still want speculative exposure. The firm said it expects to launch access to crypto ETNs in early 2026, with offerings likely to include pound-denominated, physically backed products from issuers such as 21Shares, CoinShares and WisdomTree.
