Technology
Financial Services Firm Offers Customers Access To Bitcoin ETN

UK financial services firm offers investors access to bitcoin ETN, as the digital currency continues to grow.
Financial services firm Hargreaves
Lansdown has now given its customers access to bitcoin
exchange-traded-note after partnering with Swedish-based XBT Provider. All
clients with SIPP accounts and brokerage accounts with the firm
now have digital access to add bitcoin exposure to their
portfolio.
Customers can gain exposure by purchasing the exchange traded
bitcoin note which is issued by XBT Provider, the Swedish firm
said in a statement last week.
Clients who wish to add bitcoin to their SIPP accounts now only
need to login to Hargreaves Lansdown and search for ‘XBT’.
“By adding self-service, online dealing, the team at Hargreaves
Lansdown is providing UK investors with professional and quick
access to the bitcoin space in the UK and greater Europe,” said
Ryan Radloff, head of investor relations for XBT Provider. “This
is very exciting for any investors who have been thinking about
buying bitcoin but did not want the hassle of security and
regulation involved in buying bitcoin directly from exchanges.
Now investors can quickly add bitcoin exposure to their portfolio
via their brokerage account.”
According to Coinbase, as of 1 June 2017, the price of 1 bitcoin
has reached highs of $2,440.46. The rise of the virtual currency
has been extraordinary, as investors continue to worry about
financial uncertainty with geopolitical events such as a
speculated more lax regulatory regime under Donald Trump.
But bitcoin continues to face infrastructure issues, which would
likely deter more traditional investors from pouring cash into an
instrument that tracks the movement of it.