Crypto firms that want to operate in the UK when its new regime begins on 25 October 2027 now have until 28 February 2027 to apply, after the Financial Conduct Authority opened its authorisation process this week.
The rules, published in June, cover firms that run trading platforms, deal in crypto, offer staking or hold assets in custody. They set requirements on how tokens are admitted and disclosed, how market abuse is policed, how much capital firms hold and how customers are protected.
The FCA says it will judge applicants on four things: consumer protection, safeguarding of customer assets, market integrity and financial resilience. The detail that matters most to incumbents is that registration under the money laundering regulations does not roll over. A firm that has sat on the FCA’s register for years still has to be authorised afresh.
Emma Banymandhub, chief executive of The Payments Association, said the opening moves policy into practical delivery and advised firms to treat it as a new exercise rather than an update. A well-run, proportionate process would matter for the UK’s competitiveness, she said.
There is a cushion. Firms that apply in time and meet transitional conditions can keep offering their services while the regulator assesses them.
What the FCA has not said is how many applications it expects or how quickly it can clear them. Its money laundering register was known for rejecting most applicants and for slow decisions, and the new regime asks the same regulator to judge far more than anti-money-laundering controls, with about eight months between the deadline and the start date.
