Don't Buy Bitcoin, Warns UK Investment Giant Hargreaves Lansdown
In a warning issued on the Bristol, UK-based investment platform’s website, the company said that crypto in general “shouldn’t be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals.”
Personal Opinion
This is an incredibly outdated point of view.
Bitcoin does have intrinsic value - not merely as a unit of exchange, but by virtue of the immutable chain created every time it moves. The blockchain is a living state machine, deterministically verifiable at any point in time. Its architecture offers transparency, security, and decentralization - qualities that traditional assets cannot replicate.
Hargreaves Lansdown’s stance is contradictory. They claim Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and shouldn’t be used for wealth creation, yet they plan to offer British crypto ETNs to “qualified clients.” Qualified? Does that mean only those with exceptional wealth or intelligence are permitted to access innovation? This gatekeeping robs the average person of agency - the right to make independent, informed financial decisions.
Similarly, HMRC enforces a £20,000 annual cap on tax-efficient savings via ISAs. This limit is framed as protection, but it also caps potential gains. It’s a system that restricts opportunity for the many while preserving it for the few. If education is meant to empower, why are adults - graduates, professionals, taxpayers - told they cannot be trusted to hold too much Bitcoin?
These policies reflect protection at the cost of freedom and growth. Risk is not inherently bad - it’s the engine of innovation - and people should be free to embrace it. Financial agency should not be a privilege.
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