It’s Time for the FCA to Rethink Its Position on Digital Asset ETPs
For regulation to be effective, it should enable innovation—not block it. Yet the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to uphold a dated and overly cautious stance on digital asset exchange-traded products (ETPs), barring retail investors from accessing them through regulated channels.
The FCA’s reasoning—concerns about valuation uncertainty, cybersecurity risks, volatility, and a supposed lack of legitimate investment need—has remained largely unchanged for the past decade. But the world of digital assets has moved on, and it's time the FCA did too.
When these restrictions were first implemented, the market was still in its infancy. But today, over 500 million people globally use digital assets—not just for speculation, but for payments, remittances, financial access, and long-term investment. The idea that cryptocurrencies are uniquely volatile or difficult to value no longer holds water, especially when compared to other high-risk investment classes like early-stage venture capital, art, or even certain commodities—all of which remain accessible to retail investors.
Moreover, digital assets like Bitcoin offer a level of transparency and accessibility that traditional alternatives do not. Bitcoin’s supply is auditable, its market is liquid and global, and valuation frameworks based on adoption, scarcity, and usage are increasingly accepted.
The FCA’s blanket restriction does little to protect retail investors and more to limit their financial autonomy. It’s time for a regulatory reset—one that reflects the maturity of the market, the growing investor demand, and the broader trend toward integrating digital assets into mainstream finance.
