UK crypto firms face Feb. 2027 deadline to apply for FCA authorization
Firms that miss the Feb. 28, 2027 deadline will be unable to keep offering regulated crypto services in the UK once the new regime takes effect.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority has begun accepting authorization applications from crypto firms, with a Feb. 28, 2027 deadline ahead of the new regime taking effect Oct. 25, 2027.
The regulator opened the application gateway on Sept. 30. Firms serving UK customers across trading platforms, custody, stablecoin issuance, dealing and arranging, and staking must apply by the deadline or leave the UK market, the FCA said in a statement.
Parliament expanded the FCA’s regulatory perimeter in February 2026 to cover those activities, and the regulator published its final framework in June 2026 after consulting through 2025 and early 2026. The framework moves the FCA’s oversight beyond anti-money laundering and financial promotion requirements, adding rules on market abuse, prudential standards, cryptoasset admissions and disclosures, and consumer protection.
Firms that apply during the window can continue operating and taking on new customers while their applications are assessed, provided they meet transitional conditions the FCA has not detailed. Applicants will be judged on consumer protection, customer-asset safeguarding, market integrity and financial resilience, and approval is not guaranteed.
Existing registration under the Money Laundering Regulations will not automatically convert into authorization, a point Emma Banymandhub, chief executive of The Payments Association, flagged to firms: “MLR registration will not carry over, and firms should be realistic about the standards they will need to meet.”
Industry reaction framed the gateway as a competitiveness milestone for UK financial markets. Banymandhub said a well-run, proportionate authorization process will be important to keeping the UK competitive and building a trusted digital asset market. Sandy Jones, director of digital assets at Baillie Gifford, said the step, combined with the FCA and Bank of England’s push toward tokenization, puts the UK in a renewed position of strength.
The FCA expects to decide applications submitted during the window before the regime takes effect, and is offering pre-application support and webinars to firms.
