The United Kingdom's financial landscape shifted on October 20, 2025, when BlackRock listed its Bitcoin investment product on the London Stock Exchange.The United Kingdom's financial landscape shifted on October 20, 2025, when BlackRock listed its Bitcoin investment product on the London Stock Exchange.

BlackRock Launches Bitcoin ETP as UK Opens Crypto Market to Retail Investors

2025/10/21 05:15
5 min read
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BlackRock Launches Bitcoin ETP as UK Opens Crypto Market to Retail Investors

This launch came 12 days after regulators lifted a four-year ban that blocked everyday investors from buying crypto through traditional stock markets.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETP, trading under ticker IB1T, joins similar products from 21Shares, WisdomTree, and Bitwise on the exchange. For the first time since 2021, UK residents can now invest in Bitcoin without opening a crypto wallet or dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges directly.

What Changed in UK Crypto Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority originally banned these products in January 2021. Officials worried that crypto’s wild price swings would hurt regular investors who didn’t understand the risks. But the market has changed significantly since then.

David Geale, the FCA’s executive director of payments and digital finance, explained the agency’s shift: “Since we restricted retail access to cETNs, the market has evolved, and products have become more mainstream and better understood.”

The numbers back this up. About 12% of UK adults now own cryptocurrency—up from just 4% in 2021, according to FCA research. That’s roughly 7 million people. Bitcoin’s price has also jumped over 325% since the ban started, when it traded around $29,000.

How BlackRock’s Product Works

The iShares Bitcoin ETP charges 0.15% in annual fees through the end of 2025. After that, fees increase to 0.25% per year. Units start at about $11, making it accessible to small investors.

BlackRock holds all the actual Bitcoin through Coinbase in secure offline storage. The company updates these holdings at the end of each trading day. This means investors own a piece of real Bitcoin, not just a contract betting on its price.

The product already existed in Europe since March 2025, trading on exchanges in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. It holds roughly €550 million in assets. Now UK investors can access it through regular brokerage accounts, including tax-advantaged ISAs and pension accounts.

BlackRock manages over $13 trillion globally. Its US Bitcoin ETF holds $85.5 billion, making it the world’s largest crypto investment fund by far.

Competition Heats Up on Launch Day

BlackRock wasn’t alone. Three other companies launched crypto products the same day, creating immediate competition.

21Shares listed four products tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum. Their “Core” offerings charge just 0.10% in fees—significantly less than BlackRock’s. The Swiss company already captured 70% of institutional crypto trading on the London Stock Exchange before retail access opened.

WisdomTree launched Bitcoin and Ethereum products charging 0.15% and 0.35% respectively. Bitwise went even lower, temporarily dropping its Core Bitcoin ETP fee to 0.05% for six months—the lowest rate among all providers.

Russell Barlow, CEO of 21Shares, called it “a landmark step for the UK market and for everyday investors who, for years, have been excluded from regulated crypto products.”

Tax Benefits Drive Investor Interest

One major advantage separates these products from buying crypto directly: taxes. Investors can hold crypto ETPs in stocks and shares ISAs, where gains aren’t taxed. They also work in self-invested personal pensions, offering tax relief on contributions.

However, this ISA benefit has an expiration date. After April 6, 2026, crypto ETPs will only qualify for Innovative Finance ISAs—not regular stocks and shares ISAs. This gives investors about six months to take advantage of the current tax treatment.

Research from IG Group predicts the UK crypto market could grow 20% following these changes. Their survey found 30% of UK adults would consider investing through these new products.

Young people show the strongest interest. Half of those aged 18-24 said they’d consider crypto ETP investments, along with 49% of people aged 25-34.

UK Plays Catch-Up with Global Markets

The UK fell behind other countries during its four-year ban. European exchanges handled €26 billion in crypto ETN trading in 2024. UK volumes represented just 0.59% of European activity—only £624,000 daily on average.

The United States approved Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. Those products now manage around $150 billion in assets after less than two years. The UK and US recently formed a joint task force to align their crypto policies going forward.

Jane Sloan, BlackRock’s EMEA Head of Global Product Solutions, noted that UK crypto adoption has grown 12% annually since 2022. Research suggests first-time crypto investors could increase another 21% over the next year, making the UK third in Europe for crypto investment growth.

The FCA still bans crypto derivatives like futures and options for regular investors. Officials say those products remain too risky. The regulator is developing broader rules for stablecoins, trading platforms, and custody services, expected to roll out in 2026.

The Bottom Line

UK investors now have multiple regulated options to add Bitcoin exposure to their portfolios without the complexity of managing digital wallets. Competitive fees ranging from 0.05% to 0.25% make these products affordable. The ability to use ISAs and pensions adds meaningful tax advantages that direct crypto purchases can’t match. With Bitcoin recently trading above $122,000, institutional-grade access through traditional investment accounts marks a significant step toward mainstream crypto adoption in one of the world’s major financial centers.

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Author: G3ronimo Compiled by: TechFlow HyperLiquid has grown into a mature crypto-native exchange, with the majority of its net fees programmatically distributed directly to token holders through an "Assistance Fund" (AF). This design makes $HYPE one of the few tokens capable of being valued based on cash flow. To date, most valuations of HyperLiquid have relied on traditional multiples, comparing it to established financial platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, using EBITDA or revenue multiples as a reference. Unlike traditional corporate stocks, where management typically retains and reinvests earnings at their discretion, HyperLiquid systematically returns 93% of transaction fees directly to token holders through a support fund. This model creates predictable and quantifiable cash flows, making it well-suited for detailed discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis rather than static multiple comparisons. Our methodology begins by determining $HYPE's cost of capital. We then invert the current market price to determine the market-implied future earnings. Finally, we apply growth projections to these earnings streams and compare the resulting intrinsic value to today's market price, revealing the valuation gap between current pricing and fundamental value. Why choose discounted cash flow (DCF) over a multiple? While other valuation methods compare HyperLiquid to Coinbase and Robinhood via EBITDA multiples, these methods have the following limitations: The difference between the corporate and token structures: Coinbase and Robinhood are corporate stocks, whose capital allocation is guided by the board of directors, and profits are retained and reinvested by management; while HyperLiquid systematically returns 93% of trading fees directly to token holders through a relief fund. Direct Cash Flow: HyperLiquid's design generates predictable cash flows that are well-suited to DCF models, rather than static multiples. Growth and risk characteristics: DCFs are able to explicitly model different growth scenarios and risk adjustments, whereas multiples may not adequately capture growth and risk dynamics. Determining an appropriate discount rate To determine our cost of equity, we start with reference data from the public market and adjust for cryptocurrency-specific risks: Cost of equity (r) ≈ Risk-free rate + β × Market risk premium + Crypto/illiquidity premium Beta Analysis Based on regression analysis with the S&P 500: Robinhood (HOOD): Beta of 2.5, implied cost of equity of 15.6%; Coinbase (COIN): Beta of 2.0, implied cost of equity of 13.6%; HyperLiquid (HYPE): Beta is 1.38 and the implied cost of equity is 10.5%. At first glance, $HYPE appears to have a lower beta, and therefore a lower cost of equity than Robinhood and Coinbase. However, the R² value reveals an important limitation: HOOD: The S&P 500 explains 50% of its returns; COIN: The S&P 500 explains 34% of its return; HYPE: The S&P 500 only explains 5% of its returns. $HYPE’s low R² suggests that traditional stock market factors are insufficient to explain its price fluctuations, and crypto-native risk factors need to be considered. risk assessment Despite $HYPE’s lower beta, we still adjust its discount rate from 10.5% to 13% (which is more conservative compared to COIN’s 13.6% and HOOD’s 15.6%) for the following reasons: Lower governance risk: Direct programmatic distribution of 93% of fees reduces concerns about corporate governance. In contrast, COIN and HOOD do not return any earnings to shareholders, and their capital allocation is determined by management. Higher Market Risk: $HYPE is a crypto-native asset and is subject to additional regulatory and technological uncertainties. Liquidity considerations: Token markets are generally less liquid than established stock markets. Get the Market Implied Price (MIP) Using our 13% discount rate, we can reverse engineer the market’s implied earnings expectations at the current $HYPE token price of approximately $54: Current market expectations: 2025: Total revenue of $700 million 2026: Total revenue of $1.4 billion Terminal growth: 3% annual growth thereafter These assumptions yield an intrinsic value of approximately $54, which is consistent with current market prices. This suggests that the market is pricing in modest growth based on current fee levels. At this point we need to ask a question: Does the market-implied price (MIP) reflect future cash flows? Alternative growth scenarios @Keisan_Crypto presents an attractive 2-year and 5-year bull market scenario. 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Five-year bull market forecast Annualized fees: $10 billion Aid fund income: $9.3 billion Result: HYPE's intrinsic value is $385 (600% undervalued at current price) Related links While this valuation is lower than Keisan's $1,000 target, the difference stems from our assumption of normalized earnings growth at 3% annually thereafter, while Keisan's model uses a cash flow multiple. We believe using cash flow multiples to project long-term value is problematic, as market multiples are volatile and can vary significantly over time. Furthermore, the multiples themselves incorporate earnings growth assumptions, while using the same cash flow multiple five years from now as one or two years later implies that growth levels from 2030 onward will be consistent with those in 2026/2027. Therefore, the multiples are more appropriate for short-term asset pricing. However, regardless of which model is used, $HYPE remains undervalued; this is a subtle difference. Additional Value Driver: USDH Under the Native Market model, USDH will use 50% of its stablecoin revenue for buybacks similar to a bailout fund. As a result, $HYPE can increase its free cash flow by $100 million (50% of $200 million) annually. Looking ahead five years, if USDH's market capitalization reaches $25 billion (currently still one-third of USDC's, and an even smaller portion of the total stablecoin market five years from now), its annual revenue could reach $1 billion. Following the same 50% distribution model, this would generate an additional $500 million in free cash flow per year for the aid fund. This would value each token at over $400. Excluding Value Drivers: HIP-3 and HyperEVM This DCF analysis intentionally excludes two important potential value drivers that are not amenable to cash flow modeling. 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