John Mac Ghlionn: Britain’s pensions are about to be fed into the Bitcoin casino

John Mac Ghlionn is a researcher and essayist. His writing appears in CapX, The Hill and The New York Post.

BlackRock’s latest move into Bitcoin should set off every alarm bell across Britain. The world’s largest asset manager just secured approval from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as a crypto asset firm. Now, it’s preparing to unleash a new Bitcoin ETP across Europe – with Britain front and centre.

On the surface, it looks neat, professional, and safe. Bitcoin is bundled into a tidy investment product. An ETP – an exchange-traded product – is like a stock you can buy or sell easily through your broker, without ever handling Bitcoin directly. It’s designed to make a risky asset look as simple as buying shares in a company like Tesco or BP. No messy crypto exchanges, no wild speculation; a clean, simple package for pensions, retirement accounts, and cautious investors looking for growth.

Reality, however, paints a different picture. The truth is brutal: Bitcoin is not a stable investment. It never was, and it isn’t now. For British retirees, middle-class savers, and anyone seeking real security, it is a potentially lethal trap.

Bitcoin has been around for more than fifteen years. During that time, it showed the world exactly what it was good for, and what it wasn’t. It is excellent for speculation. It is excellent for criminals. It is excellent for pump-and-dump schemes. But as money, as a tool of everyday life? It’s absolutely useless. You can’t pay your council tax in Bitcoin. You can’t buy groceries with it at Sainsbury’s. You can’t cover your mortgage, gas bill, or prescriptions. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, produces nothing, and depends entirely on belief, hype, and liquidity.

BlackRock knows this. They aren’t confused. They aren’t naive. They see exactly what Bitcoin is: a volatile, unstable asset that can be marketed, sold, and milked for fees. That’s why they’re moving in.

BlackRock is known for many things, but benevolence is not one of them. They aren’t bringing Bitcoin to Britain to empower ordinary people. They’re bringing it to create a new casino floor that looks respectable enough for the pension funds to wander onto. Once the bets start, BlackRock wins no matter what. If Bitcoin surges, BlackRock collects management fees. Even if Bitcoin crashes, BlackRock still collects management fees. It’s a no-lose business model, for them.

For the average Brit, however, it’s a high-stakes game rigged from the start – and for anyone tempted to dismiss this as a niche story, think again. Around 12 per cent of adults in the UK already own some form of cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin by far the most popular. This isn’t a fringe issue anymore. It’s moving straight into the heart of the financial system, right where pensions, savings, and retirement security are most vulnerable.

Even in more economically stable times, this push would be troubling. But today, in an age of Donald Trump’s tariffs, it’s even more destabilising. The economy is fragile, inflation has battered real wages, and retirement security is shakier than it has been in decades. A generation that once dreamed of a home, a pension, and a modest retirement now clings to whatever financial vehicles seem to offer hope.

And Bitcoin – dressed up in BlackRock’s suit and tie – is being sold as that hope.

To a struggling retiree, a stretched-thin worker, or a cautious saver looking at dwindling options, a “regulated” Bitcoin ETP might seem safe, respectable, and reasonable.

It’s not. Bitcoin is still Bitcoin. It can lose 50 per cent of its value in a few hours, all because of a rumour, a lawsuit, or a tweet. Imagine betting your pension on that. Imagine betting your children’s inheritance. BlackRock’s packaging won’t change Bitcoin’s DNA. It will only make it easier to pretend the risks aren’t there. But volatility doesn’t disappear because you put it in a shiny wrapper; speculation doesn’t turn into security because it comes with an FCA-approved stamp.

Britain’s new financial danger is that tangible assets are harder to find, and real stability is harder to afford. The vacuum is being filled with financial products that promise safety but deliver roulette wheels. Having covered the murky world of crypto for years, I say this with great conviction: Bitcoin is not gold. It is not currency. It is not a hedge. It is a bet. A wild, unstable, unbacked bet.

The FCA’s approval doesn’t erase the history of collapse, scams, and financial ruin that has followed Bitcoin from its beginning. The people of Britain must recognise this fact.

If Bitcoin is allowed to infect pensions, retirement accounts, and middle-class savings plans, the next crash will not only wipe out speculators but also lives, leave retirees destitute, and ripping through communities already struggling to survive.