The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began accepting authorization applications from crypto firms on Wednesday, the first step toward bringing the country’s crypto businesses under full FCA regulation.
Firms that want to keep operating in the UK should apply by Feb. 28, 2027. The new regime takes effect on Oct. 25, 2027, and the FCA said it expects to rule on applications filed within that window before then.
Existing firms that apply in time can keep providing crypto services, and take on new business, while their applications are under review if no decision has been reached by the start date.
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Approval ‘Is Not Automatic’
The FCA said each applicant will be judged in four areas: how it protects consumers, how it safeguards customer assets, market integrity and its financial resilience. Firms that fall short will not be authorized and won’t be able to keep offering regulated crypto services in the UK.
“The UK’s new crypto regime will give consumers greater protections and firms a clear framework to operate in,” Dominic Cashman, the FCA’s director of authorisation, said in a statement. “Firms can now apply for authorisation and start preparing for regulation.”
The regulator said firms can request a pre-application support meeting before they file, and that its webinars on the rules are available on demand.
How the UK Got Here
The FCA published its final crypto rules and guidance in June. On Sept. 16, it followed with final guidance spelling out which activities will need its sign-off, from issuing qualifying stablecoins and running trading platforms to safeguarding crypto and arranging staking, as Unchained reported. At the time, the FCA said existing registrations and permissions would not carry over automatically into the new regime.
A day before that guidance, HM Treasury published draft amendments that would take payments in UK-issued qualifying stablecoins outside the licensing requirements for dealing and arranging, and exempt some firms that only provide interfaces to decentralized protocols. The FCA said it would consult on changes to reflect them.
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