Hargreaves Lansdown , an investment manager for more than $ 70 billion, with 876,000 investors, announced that it will allow its customers to gain access to Bitcoin.
"By adding self-service online services, the Hargreaves Lansdown team is providing UK investors with fast and professional access to Bitcoin in the UK and Europe, " said Ryan Radloff, director of investor relations at XBT .
Hargreaves Lansdown is using a fund offered by a Swedish company XBT Provider, which is structured as an ETN (which is a form of investment similar to that of a negotiated fund). These funds are publicly traded, which means that Bitcoin can be bought and sold as one stock.
"The value of any amount payable under the certificates will be heavily affected by Bitcoin's performance and the Swedish dollar / kroner exchange rate ," explains XBT Provider. "As such an investment in the certificates is likely to be highly volatile and therefore risky."
In other words, British Bitcoin investors will be exposed to two risk areas: not only the famous cryptoneon volatility, but also the Swedish dollar / kroner exchange rate.
Customers send
Danny Cox, director of communications at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the decision to add Bitcoin as an investment option was driven in part by customer demand.
Cox said:
We have seen a handful of clients asking about the TNC, so it is not purely driven by a supplier who wants to be on the list. "
This interest proves that the demand was surely significant among the traditional investors that the company so that it decided to include it.
Despite the potential risks, Bitcoin has outperformed all assets and fiat currency in 2017. This type of digital money is starting to catch the eye. This is an important step for Bitcoin towards universal adoption and can become a legitimate asset for traditional finance.