Is your crypto insured? FDIC, SIPC, FSCS and CIPF explained

Money in a bank account in the US, the UK or Canada is protected up to a limit if the bank fails. Shares held with a broker have their own protection if the broker fails. Many people assume crypto on an exchange works the same way. In almost all cases, it doesn’t.

This guide goes through the main protection schemes in each country, what they cover, what they don’t, and where crypto falls between the cracks.

The short answer

Scheme	Country	Covers crypto held for you?	What it can cover in crypto-related accounts
FDIC	US	No	Cash deposits at an insured bank (for example, a bank account linked to an exchange)
SIPC	US	No, unless it’s a registered security	Securities and cash at a SIPC-member broker, such as shares of a crypto ETF
FSCS	UK	No	Deposits and regulated investments, not cryptoassets
CIPF	Canada	No	Cash in your account with a member firm, and crypto ETFs and funds

And none of these schemes ever protects you against the price of an investment falling.

United States

FDIC: bank deposits only

The FDIC’s fact sheet on crypto companies is unusually direct:

• FDIC deposit insurance applies only to deposits held in insured banks and savings associations, and only if the bank fails.
• It doesn’t apply to crypto assets, stocks, bonds, money market funds or other securities and commodities.
• It doesn’t protect against the default, insolvency or bankruptcy of any non-bank company, including crypto custodians, exchanges, brokers, wallet providers and neobanks.

The FDIC published the fact sheet because some crypto companies had suggested their products were FDIC-insured, which could lead customers to believe, mistakenly, that their money was safe.

Where FDIC can matter: if an exchange holds customers’ US dollar cash in accounts at insured banks, that cash may be protected if that bank fails, depending on how the accounts are set up. It doesn’t protect you if the exchange fails, and it never covers the crypto itself.

SIPC: securities at a broker

SIPC protects customers of failed member brokerage firms: it helps return securities and cash held at the broker. According to SIPC:

• It does not protect any digital asset that doesn’t qualify as a security under the Securities Investor Protection Act, and it lists stablecoins among assets it doesn’t protect.
• Crypto that is an unregistered investment contract isn’t treated as a security for SIPC purposes, even if a member firm holds it.

So bitcoin bought through a brokerage app’s crypto feature is typically not SIPC-protected. Shares of a spot bitcoin ETP, which are securities, held at a member broker are a different matter. See bitcoin ETFs explained.

Stablecoins under the GENIUS Act

The 2025 GENIUS Act, which regulates payment stablecoins, states that they are not federally insured. Holders get priority over other creditors if the issuer goes bankrupt, which is a different kind of protection from insurance. See stablecoins explained.

United Kingdom

FSCS: not for cryptoassets

The FSCS says it can only protect financial products and activities regulated by the FCA or the PRA, and that, because the FCA doesn’t regulate most cryptoassets, the FSCS can’t protect you if a platform that exchanges or holds them goes out of business.

The FSCS’s own research found that 67% of people surveyed in December 2021 believed, when they first invested in crypto, that it was FSCS-protected. It isn’t.

FCA registration isn’t protection

Crypto businesses serving UK customers must be registered with the FCA for anti-money-laundering purposes. The FCA states that registration doesn’t mean customers benefit from the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS, and registered firms must tell you this.

Crypto ETNs

Since 8 October 2025, UK retail investors can buy crypto ETNs on FCA-approved UK exchanges. The FCA has said there will be no FSCS coverage for these products.

Canada

CIPF: cash and funds, not crypto itself

The Canadian Investor Protection Fund protects clients of member firms if a firm becomes insolvent. CIPF’s coverage rules say:

• Crypto assets, crypto contracts and other crypto-related property held by a member firm are not eligible for CIPF coverage.
• Cash held in your crypto trading account with a CIPF member is covered.
• Units of ETFs, mutual funds and other investment funds that invest in crypto assets, held with a member firm, are covered.

Crypto platforms

Canadian crypto trading platforms must be registered with securities regulators, and registration comes with conditions on safeguarding client assets. That’s regulation, not insurance. The CSA warns that platforms which don’t comply with securities law may not adequately safeguard your assets, and that all crypto assets carry risk.

What about “insurance” offered by exchanges?

Some exchanges say they hold private insurance or have a reserve fund. Read the details carefully:

• Policies often cover only crypto held in hot wallets, or only losses from hacks, not from fraud, mismanagement or insolvency.
• Coverage is usually shared by all customers and capped, so it may cover only a small fraction of what’s lost in a major failure.
• It doesn’t cover losses from your account being compromised, for example through a SIM swap or phishing.

Private insurance is better than nothing, but it’s not a guarantee.

How to protect yourself

1. Assume your crypto is not insured, wherever you hold it, unless an official scheme says otherwise.
2. Choose registered platforms, and read how they hold client assets. See how to choose a crypto exchange.
3. Don’t leave more on a platform than you need to. Consider self-custody for long-term holdings: see hot vs cold wallets.
4. If you want price exposure inside a protected account, a crypto ETF at a regulated broker may be covered by broker protection schemes in the US and Canada, although not against falls in price.
5. Report false insurance claims. A company claiming FDIC or FSCS protection for crypto is a red flag.