Hargreaves Lansdown, one of Britain’s largest retail investment platforms, has warned that Bitcoin should not be treated as a core part of investment portfolios – even if it is preparing to offer crypto products to clients for the first time.
In a statement published on its website, the Bristol-based company Bitcoin said, despite its long-term price gains, “is not an asset class” and lacks the inherent properties that would justify, including that in a portfolio of growth or income.
Hargreaves Lansdown claimed that Cryptocurrency’s Price History shows periods of “extreme losses”, adding that performance assumptions are impossible to analyze and that the asset “should not trust” to help clients achieve financial goals.
The company’s comments come shortly after Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ended its nearly four -year ban on crypto exchange trade (ETNS) for retail investors.
Hargreaves Lansdown said it is planning to take several months to develop what it calls a “balanced client trip” and ensures that customers get detailed risk prices and pass on an appropriate assessment before they are allowed to invest. Customers who qualify will typically face a 10% portfolio cap on crypto exposure under FCA rules.
The company also highlighted new regulatory conditions for the UK market.
FCA only allows crypto -ethns that are physically supported by Bitcoin or Ether – which means they are supported by reserves of the underlying assets – and which are listed on a recognized investment exchange (RIE) as 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 admission to conventional portfolios remains a step too far for Hargreave’s lansdown, it acknowledged that some clients will still have speculative exposure.
The company said it expects to launch access to crypto-ethns by the beginning of 2026, where offers probably include pound-denominated, physically backed-up products from issuers such as 21Shares, Coinhares and Wisdomtree.
