The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will open a dedicated licensing gateway for crypto firms in September 2026, starting a formal authorization process ahead of the full cryptoasset regime due to take effect on 25 October 2027.
The FCA has signalled that a broad set of crypto activities will fall inside the regime. Firms wishing to undertake newly regulated cryptoasset activities must obtain authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA).
Beyond permissions, the consultations published by the regulator probe admissions and disclosure standards for listings, market abuse controls, trading platform requirements and prudential safeguards. The FCA has indicated new expectations for governance, risk management and prudential capital and liquidity tailored to crypto business models.
Applications will be accepted in a discrete window beginning in September 2026; the period will last at least 28 days and will close no later than 28 days before the new regime comes into force. Draft legislation includes a saving provision: businesses that submit a timely application will be able to continue operating their existing regulated cryptoasset services while the FCA assesses their applications, but they will not be permitted to launch new products or services during that assessment.
Firms that miss the application window or are not authorised by the regime start will face transitional restrictions on new offerings and may encounter substantially longer assessment timelines if they apply late. That could materially constrain growth and access to the UK market for affected operators.
Operational steps for firms and immediate deadlines
Entities currently registered under the Money Laundering Regulations should not expect automatic conversion of that registration into FSMA permissions; separate authorization will be required. Firms already authorised under FSMA for other financial services must vary existing permissions to add cryptoasset activities.
The FCA is still consulting on technical elements. Responses on trading platforms, intermediaries, lending, borrowing and staking are due by 12 February 2026, and the regulator aims to finalise the regime by the end of 2026.
Compliance teams should prioritise remediation of governance, custody, disclosure and prudential controls to meet the expected authorization standards.
Investors, product leads and compliance officers are now focused on two near-term checkpoints: the consultation deadline on 12 February 2026 and the FCA’s planned finalisation of rules by year-end 2026.
The full effectiveness of the framework on 25 October 2027 will be the practical test of whether firms have converted policy changes into operationally robust, supervised services that can compete in the UK market.
