Crypto regulation in the UK: what applies in 2026 and what changes next

The United Kingdom operates two crypto regimes simultaneously in 2026. The regime in force today is registration with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017: an AML/CTF check, not a full license. The regime that replaces it is full authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act, created by FSMA 2023 and the Cryptoassets Regulations 2026, with an application window from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027 and an expected go-live on 25 October 2027. If you serve UK customers, this transition is the single most important compliance event on your calendar. This guide to crypto regulation in the UK walks through both regimes, the timeline between them, and what to do at each stage.

What crypto rules apply in the UK right now?

Since 10 January 2020, the FCA has supervised UK cryptoasset businesses for anti-money-laundering purposes, according to the FCA’s registration page. Any firm carrying on cryptoasset activity “by way of business” in the UK must register with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 before it starts operating.

Two categories of business fall inside the regime, per the FCA’s cryptoassets AML/CTF page:

Crypto-fiat exchange providers. This covers exchanges in the ordinary sense, as well as crypto ATMs, peer-to-peer platforms, and businesses issuing new cryptoassets, such as ICO issuers.
Custodian wallet providers. Firms that hold or administer cryptoassets, or the keys to them, on behalf of clients.

Two limits of this regime matter for how you present yourself to clients. First, MLR registration is money-laundering supervision only. The FCA states on the same page that registration is “not a recommendation or endorsement” of the firm. Second, customers of MLR-registered crypto firms are not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. A registered firm cannot market itself as “FCA approved”, and its clients carry the full commercial risk.

How hard is it to get FCA registration?

Historically, very hard. The FCA publishes application statistics on its registration page, and as at 1 August 2026, they read as follows. Since 10 January 2020, the FCA has received 412 applications and determined 391 of them. Of those determined, 68 were registered, which is 17 percent. Another 263 were withdrawn by the applicants themselves (67 percent), 46 were rejected (12 percent), and 14 were refused (4 percent).

In plain terms, roughly 83 percent of applications have never reached registration, and most failed applications die by withdrawal, usually after the FCA signals that the file will not pass. Note that 68 is the cumulative number of approvals since 2020, not a live count of firms on the register today; the current list is searchable on the Financial Services Register.

The recent trend is friendlier. Over the last 12 months, the FCA determined 23 applications and registered 13 of them, a 56 percent approval rate according to the same FCA statistics page. Prepared applicants now get through at several times the historical rate. The filter did not loosen; the quality of files improved, because weak applicants stopped applying.

What changes under FSMA 2023?

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 laid the foundations. Section 69 brought cryptoassets within the perimeter of FSMA 2000, and sections 22 and 23, with Schedule 6, created the concept of “digital settlement assets”, which pulls stablecoins into payments regulation.

The detailed rulebook arrived in stages. HM Treasury published a draft statutory instrument in 2025, and the final version, The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/102), was made on 4 February 2026. The SI creates a set of new regulated activities that will require full FCA authorization:

operating a cryptoasset trading platform,
dealing in qualifying cryptoassets and arranging deals,
safeguarding and custody of cryptoassets,
issuing qualifying stablecoins,
staking services,
plus a public-offers and admission-to-trading regime and a market abuse regime for qualifying cryptoassets.

A further amending draft SI, published with a policy note on 21 April 2026, proposes to remove UK-issued qualifying stablecoins used in payment services from the dealing and arranging activities, to carve out overseas market makers, and to adjust the rules for tokenized securities held through CSD nominees. At the time of the policy note, this instrument was still a draft with feedback open until 22 May 2026, so treat those adjustments as direction of travel, not settled law.

On 30 June 2026 the FCA completed its crypto roadmap and published final rules in five policy statements, listed on the FCA cryptoasset regime page: PS26/9 on admissions, disclosures and market abuse, PS26/10 on stablecoin issuance, PS26/11 on regulated cryptoasset activities including trading platforms, custody under the new CASS 17 rules, lending and staking, PS26/12 on the prudential regime, and PS26/13 on how the FCA Handbook applies, including the Consumer Duty and operational resilience requirements. The FCA announced the package in its press release on the new crypto rules. A consultation on perimeter guidance, CP26/13, remains open for firms unsure whether their model falls inside the new activities.

What is the timeline for the new UK crypto regulatory framework?

The dates below come from the FCA’s page on how the authorization gateway will operate and the FCA crypto roadmap. The FCA frames the future dates as expected, so build slack into your plan. Still, this is the crypto regulation UK calendar every firm with UK exposure should pin to the wall:

Date	Event
30 June 2026	Final rules and guidance published (PS26/9 to PS26/13)
July 2026	Pre-application support opens
30 September 2026	Authorization gateway opens
28 February 2027	Application window closes
25 October 2027	New regime expected to take effect

The most important fact in this timeline is what is missing from it: automatic conversion. The FCA states directly that for MLR-registered firms “there will be no automatic conversion and they will need to secure authorization by us under FSMA”, per the gateway page. Your existing registration buys you nothing at the gateway except the experience of having been supervised.

The transition mechanics reward early filing. A firm that applies within the window and remains undetermined at go-live continues to operate under a saving provision until the FCA decides. A firm that never applies, or applies after the window, falls into transitional arrangements limited to performing pre-existing contracts. That is a wind-down, not a business.

MLR registration itself is also winding down. According to the FCA’s page on MLR registration ahead of the new FSMA regime, applications proceed as normal until 30 September 2026; once the gateway opens, the FCA recommends going straight for FSMA authorization; and it advises against filing new MLR applications after 31 July 2027 because they are unlikely to be processed in time. The same page warns that MLR registration is no guarantee of FSMA authorization.

How will stablecoins be regulated in the UK?

Stablecoins get a two-tier regime. The FCA regulates all UK stablecoin issuance under PS26/10, described on the FCA cryptoasset regime page: issuers must fully back coins with qualifying assets held in a statutory trust, redeem at par, and may hold up to 5 percent excess in the backing pool. In PS26/12 the FCA also cut the prudential coefficient for issuers from 2 percent to 1 percent.

Stablecoins that HM Treasury designates as systemic, meaning widely used for payments, move up to joint regulation by the Bank of England and the FCA, under the approach set out in the BoE and FCA joint regulation paper. The Bank consulted on sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins in November 2025, closed the consultation on 10 February 2026, and published its Policy Statement, including a draft Code of Practice, in June 2026. If your token has any prospect of payment-scale adoption in the UK, plan for Bank of England standards, not just FCA ones.

Can an offshore firm keep serving UK customers?

Mostly no, and this is the change that reaches furthest beyond UK borders. The new activities apply to services provided “either in the UK or to UK customers”. HM Treasury’s policy note on the regulated activities regime states that a firm dealing with UK retail consumers, directly or indirectly, through a trading platform, acting as principal or agent, or arranging, must be authorized in the UK, regardless of where it is based. The classic structure for onboarding UK retail users for an offshore entity will no longer work once the regime takes effect.

Two safety valves exist. First, the intermediation exclusion in the same policy note: an overseas firm does not need UK authorization if a UK-authorised intermediary, an authorized platform, or a dealer acting as principal sits between it and the UK consumer. Second, the April 2026 amending policy note proposes a carve-out that would allow overseas market makers to supply liquidity to UK venues without a dealing authorization, designed to avoid pushing liquidity offshore.

So an offshore firm has three honest options: get authorized, route UK flow through a UK-authorised intermediary, or geofence the UK. Pretending the rules do not apply is not on the list; the perimeter was drafted specifically to catch reverse-solicitation theatre aimed at retail users.

What should a crypto business do now?

The gateway is open from 30 September 2026, and the window closes on 28 February 2027. Between those dates, here is the sequence that keeps you operating without interruption under crypto regulatory requirements.

Map your activities against SI 2026/102. Check each revenue line against the new regulated activities: platform, dealing, arranging, custody, staking, stablecoin issuance. If classification is unclear, the perimeter guidance consultation CP26/13 shows how the FCA is thinking.
Decide your UK posture. Full authorization, an intermediated model behind a UK-authorised firm, or exit. For firms whose UK book is small, compare the cost of authorization with that of routing through an intermediary. For EU-focused firms, weigh the UK build against expanding under an EU passport; our MiCA licensing practice can price that comparison for you.
Use pre-application support. The FCA opened pre-application engagement in July 2026. Firms that arrive at the gateway with a file already shaped by FCA feedback are the ones producing the current 56 percent approval statistics.
File early in the window. The saving provision protects firms whose applications are pending at go-live. Filing in autumn 2026 gives you the longest runway and the least crowded queue.
Build the new obligations into the budget. The new regime brings prudential capital and stress testing, the Consumer Duty, market abuse systems, and CASS 17 custody rules. These are ongoing operating costs, not one-off legal fees.
Fix the corporate layer while you wait. Authorization applications fail on substance: governance, local presence, fit-and-proper management. If you still need a UK or EU entity, payment rails, or an operating company, our company formation and ready-made companies and payment services teams handle that groundwork in parallel with the licensing file.

Manimama supports crypto businesses through exactly this kind of regime change: activity mapping, application files, and restructuring around the new perimeter. If the UK is in your 2027 plans, the preparation has to happen in 2026.

FAQ

Do I need a license to run a crypto business in the UK in 2026?

Today, you need FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 before starting cryptoasset activity in the UK, which covers crypto-fiat exchange and custodian wallet providers. Full FSMA authorization is not yet required, but the application window for the new regime runs from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so both tracks matter this year (source: FCA).

Will my existing FCA registration convert into the new authorization?

No. The FCA states that there will be no automatic conversion, and that MLR-registered firms will need to secure FSMA authorization like everyone else. If you apply within the window and remain undetermined at go-live, a savings provision allows you to continue operating until the FCA decides (source: FCA gateway page).

What happens if I miss the application window?

Firms that do not apply, or apply after 28 February 2027, fall under transitional arrangements that limit them to performing pre-existing contracts once the regime takes effect, expected on 25 October 2027. In practice, that means servicing legacy obligations while winding down UK-facing business, with no right to take on new UK customers (source: FCA).

How likely is an FCA crypto application to succeed?

Historically, only 17 percent of determined applications ended in registration: 68 approvals out of 391 determined since January 2020, with 67 percent withdrawn. Over the last 12 months, the approval rate rose to 56 percent, 13 of 23 determinations, which shows well-prepared files now succeed at several times the historical rate (source: FCA statistics).

Can my offshore exchange keep UK retail clients without UK authorization?

Only through a UK-authorised intermediary. HM Treasury’s policy is that firms serving UK retail consumers, directly or indirectly, need UK authorization wherever they are based. The exclusion applies when an authorized UK platform or principal dealer stands between you and the consumer; a proposed carve-out also covers overseas market makers supplying liquidity (source: HMT policy note).