Copy article

Hargreaves Lansdown warns investors against crypto

ended 09. October 2025

Hargreaves Lansdown has cautioned investors against investing too heavily in cryptocurrencies. This follows the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to lift its ban on crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs).

The firm, which controls nearly a third of the British investment market, warned clients that crypto should not “be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals”.

Hargreaves Lansdown said that despite the FCA’s reversal, Bitcoin still had “no intrinsic value.”

“We do not think cryptocurrency has characteristics that mean it should be included in portfolios for growth or income and shouldn’t be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals,” the firm said.

  • What do you think about the announcement?
  • Is crypto such as Bitcoin a good or bad investment?
  • Why is there such debate over it?

Responses by mid-afternoon.

10 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Editor
Eamonn Prendergast
Chartered Financial Adviser at Palantir Financial Planning Ltd
Hargreaves Lansdown is right to sound a note of caution crypto remains a speculative asset, not a financial plan. Bitcoin’s volatility makes it unsuitable for investors seeking long-term, goal-based outcomes, and its lack of intrinsic value means it behaves more like a sentiment trade than a store of wealth. That said, dismissing it entirely misses the point , digital assets are reshaping how younger generations think about money. The key is proportion and purpose: a small, speculative allocation for those who understand the risk is fine, but crypto should never replace diversified, regulated investments designed to build real, lasting wealth
Copy

Editor
Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
This is a pragmatic stance from Hargreaves Lansdown as Crypto is a bet and not an investment. With no fundamentals driving sentiment, and no backing of amny instrinic value, no client should be investing in crypto if they need the funds in the future. Speculation at its finest, you could get rich or die trying.
Copy

Editor
Daniel Hobbs
CEO at New Leaf Distribution
The majority of clients are categorised as "retail" and therefore will have an assumed lack of knowledge on sophisticated investment products. Their risk appetite and objectives will usually reflect investments that provide slow and steady returns over the long term with an aversion to big volatility jumps.

Crypto just doesn't align to this philosophy and whilst it creates some sensationalist headlines and grabs attention with the big wins, in my opinion, it is far too risky to advise it should be part of a portfolio for the cautious to moderate risk investor.

This will be the next mis selling scandal in 5 years time. If I was a complaints chasing company, I'd be licking my lips at this announcement!
Copy

Editor
Scott Gallacher
Director at Rowley Turton
It’s rare that I find myself agreeing with Hargreaves Lansdown, but in this case, I think they’re absolutely right. Why would you pay £92,000 for a Bitcoin — essentially an electronic note with no underlying value — when you could instead invest in great companies through shares, lend to them via corporate bonds, lend to the government via gilts, or buy tangible assets like property or gold?

Of all those choices, cryptocurrency makes the least sense. It doesn’t produce income, has no intrinsic value, and relies purely on the “greater fool theory” — the hope that someone else will pay more for it later.
Copy

Editor
Tony Redondo
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
A cynic might suggest HL is protecting its market share. Their "no intrinsic value" argument claims crypto doesn't produce earnings like stocks or interest like bonds. Yet since the end in 1971 of the Gold Standard, a £20 note holds value only through collective belief - it has no intrinsic value without gold backing. Crypto undeniably brings high volatility, no cash flows, regulatory uncertainty, limited real-world utility, and susceptibility to manipulation. For those seeking stable retirement income or steady growth, it's risky. However, others view Bitcoin as "digital gold" - a store of value and inflation hedge offering portfolio diversification. It's delivered massive returns for early adopters and provides exposure to blockchain technology.
Copy

Editor
Pete Mugleston
Mortgage Advisor & Managing Director at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
In the last decade, Bitcoin has outperformed other asset classes, delivering more than a hundred times the return. That being said, with limited real-world utility, the value really is what someone is prepared to pay for it. Bitcoin represents a revolt against the current financial system. It could be described as the world greatest meme, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Copy

Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
The FCA has approved pyramid schemes by lifting its ban on crypto ETNs. All because enough people demanded the right to lose money in a regulated fashion. After fifteen years of breathless promises about blockchain transformation, cryptocurrency remains primarily useful for ransomware payments, drug transactions, and separating fools from their savings.

The intrinsic value argument is just as true today because it exposes the fundamental hollowness of the entire crypto ecosystem.

Property generates rental income, stocks represent actual businesses with real revenues, bonds pay interest from genuine economic activity. Bitcoin generates nothing except speculation and environmental damage through 'mining' that consumes more electricity than entire countries to produce digital tokens backed by collective delusion.

The blockchain technology supposedly revolutionising finance has found virtually zero practical applications beyond criminal enterprise and speculative gambling.
Copy

Premium
Prem Raja
Head of Trading Floor at Currencies 4 You
I am quite disappointed to hear this stance on cryptocurrency- after ETF's, S&P500 companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets and Government's literally buying Bitcoin- it is strange to hear that HL do not think that Bitcoin has any intrinsic value, when its literal value is over $100k. Crypto is of course, a high risk investment and should be treated as such, but deterring investors away from something which has demonstrated it can stand the test of time and still provide returns does not make sense to me.
Copy

David Kimberley
Founder at TradeInformer
HL is correct to say that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value as the cryptocurrency ultimately functions like a ponzi scheme. However, the fact they had to make this statement reflects a growing blurring of the lines between long-term, vanilla investment products and speculative trading activity. This is almost entirely the result of the regulator being so heavy-handed against firms offering speculative products, that they have had little choice but to expand their product range and blend the two together. The FCA - like other regulators globally - needs to accept the fact that there is demand for speculative activity among retail traders and adjust rules accordingly.
Copy

Dr. James Fox
Director at Trade Pass
Cryptocurrencies, regardless of your strategy or convictions, are speculative by their very nature. That's not to say they can't be good investments, but wise investors will look to minimise speculation by leveraging all the data available to them. This is much easier with traditional asset classes like stocks, bonds, and trusts, and even currencies.

Far too many people in the UK are overexposed to cryptocurrencies, especially considering how easy it is to diversify investments across asset classes. What's more, diversification doesn't mean abandoning the potential for huge upside. Data-driven investments in stocks can deliver far greater returns over the long run.