Hargreaves Lansdown Opens 9 Crypto ETNs; a £1,000 Round Trip Can Cost 2.09%

BRISTOL, England, September 6, 2026, 11:08 a.m. BST — Hargreaves Lansdown has opened nine exchange-traded notes tied to Bitcoin and Ether. Yet a £1,000 round trip can absorb as much as £20.90 in stated first-year charges. That is 2.09% before spreads, tax or any market move.

The calculation exposes the real trade-off behind the launch. HL gives roughly two million clients a regulated route to crypto prices, but it does not recreate direct coin ownership or round-the-clock dealing.

The upper estimate combines HL’s 0.35% account fee, a 0.35% product charge and two £6.95 trades. The lower case uses a zero product fee and two £3.95 trades. Both exclude the bid-offer spread.

Small tickets carry the heaviest drag

Illustrative one-year holding with one purchase and one sale.

£1,000 position£11.40–£20.901.14%–2.09% of capital

£5,000 position£25.40–£48.900.51%–0.98% of capital

£25,000 position£95.40–£188.900.38%–0.76% of capital

£50,000 position£157.90–£338.900.32%–0.68% of capital

Includes HL’s 0.35% annual account charge, capped at £150, a 0%–0.35% product fee and a £7.90–£13.90 round trip.

. Calculations by TS2.

Scale changes the arithmetic. The platform cap starts helping once the relevant holdings pass about £42,857. Trading costs also shrink as a percentage of a larger ticket.