Bitcoin "is not an asset class" and has "no intrinsic value"

Editor's note: A major UK investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown, has warned that Bitcoin "is not an asset class" and has "no intrinsic value," even as regulators prepare to allow wider retail access to crypto products. The firm argues that unlike stocks or bonds, Bitcoin doesn't generate income or cash flow, meaning its price depends entirely on what others are willing to pay—making it purely speculative. This sharp contrast between public enthusiasm and institutional caution underscores a core tension: faith in Bitcoin as "digital gold" (see Is Bitcoin A Store of Value?) versus the financial establishment's view that it lacks a stable, measurable foundation.
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Bitcoin is 'not an asset' and has 'no intrinsic value,' says $225 billion investment company

By Jim Edwards | October 10, 2025

Hargreaves Lansdown, the largest retail investment platform in the U.K., which has about $225 billion in assets under management, issued a surprisingly harsh warning to its customers: Stay away from Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has "no intrinsic value," it told its clients, and should not be included in their life savings and retirement plans.

HL is the third large financial institution recently to remind customers that crypto might be based on nothing, following Deutsche Bank and Elliott Management.

"While longer-term returns of Bitcoin have been positive, Bitcoin has experienced several periods of extreme losses and is a highly volatile investment—much riskier than stocks or bonds. The HL investment view is that Bitcoin is not an asset class, and we do not think cryptocurrency has characteristics that mean it should be included in portfolios for growth or income and shouldn't be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals. Performance assumptions are not possible to analyze for crypto, and unlike other alternative asset classes it has no intrinsic value," the company said in a statement that also noted the platform would begin offering crypto trades for customers.

A few days ago, Deutsche Bank told clients that Bitcoin was "backed by nothing" even though it would also likely end up being used as a reserve asset by central banks in the next few years.

And back in January, activist investor Elliott Management told clients that Bitcoin faced an "inevitable collapse" because as an asset it has "no substance."

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While on the subject of banks:

We Need a Complete Overhaul of the Legal System