MSTR Cat

Crypto Law/Level III · Tokens and securities law/3.3 Europe and beyond/Lesson 4

The United Kingdom’s regime

How UK crypto regulation moved from anti-money-laundering registration and a promotions regime to full FCA authorisation under the Cryptoassets Regulations 2026, and what applies before the new regime starts on 25 October 2027.

Education, not legal, tax or investment advice. Crypto law differs between countries and states and changes often. Check the current rules where you live with a qualified lawyer or tax adviser before you act.

The lean path

The cheapest, lowest-tax, simplest and most private route the law allows, best first. Each step names the rule it rests on and the condition that keeps it lawful.

  1. Holders using UK platforms pay nothing extra for safety by checking the FCA Register and Warning List first; MLR registration is not authorisation, so no Ombudsman or compensation-scheme cover applies. UK residents also have a 2026 capital gains annual exempt amount of £3,000.
  2. Cheapest way for an overseas project to stay outside the UK regime is not to promote to UK consumers at all; any promotion outside the four lawful routes breaches FSMA section 21, a criminal offence carrying up to two years’ imprisonment.
  3. Where UK promotion is wanted, the practical routes are approval by an FCA-authorised person with approver permission, or MLR registration using the Article 73ZA exemption; PS23/6 risk warnings and the 24-hour cooling-off period still apply.
  4. Firms already serving UK clients should apply in the window from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027 to keep operating under the savings provisions; late applicants may have to stop until authorised once the regime starts on 25 October 2027.

MaterialsThe FCA’s ‘Cryptoasset regime’ policy statements page (PS26/9 to PS26/13, published 30 June 2026)The FCA’s page ‘Cryptoasset firms marketing to UK consumers’ on the financial promotions regimeFCA Finalised Guidance FG26/7, Approach to International Cryptoasset FirmsThe FCA Financial Services Register and the FCA Warning List

Wonder

  1. Is a crypto firm ‘regulated’ in the UK just because it is registered with the FCA?
  2. Can an overseas exchange advertise to people in the UK?
  3. When does the UK’s full crypto regime actually start, and what happens to firms in the meantime?

Explore

  1. The UK’s first crypto rules were about money laundering. Since 10 January 2020 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has supervised cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, known as the MLRs. A business carrying on these activities in the UK must register before it starts. The FCA warns that registration is not an endorsement and that customers of a registered firm do not get access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Since the UK left the EU, MiCA does not apply there, and an EU passport gives no UK rights (lesson 3.3.7).
  2. The second layer is marketing. From 8 October 2023, promotions of qualifying cryptoassets came within the FCA’s remit, and the regime applies to every firm marketing to UK consumers, including firms based overseas. There are four lawful routes: the promotion is made by an FCA-authorised person, approved by one, made by an MLR-registered cryptoasset business under the Article 73ZA exemption in the Financial Promotion Order, or covered by another exemption. Anything else breaches section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. FCA rules in PS23/6 add risk warnings and a 24-hour cooling-off period.
  3. The third layer is full authorisation. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, passed by Parliament on 4 February 2026, bring a broad range of crypto activities inside the FCA’s perimeter. FCA guidance lists them with their article numbers: issuing qualifying stablecoins (9M), safeguarding cryptoassets (9N), operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform (9S), dealing as principal (9T) or as agent (9W), arranging deals (9Y), and arranging cryptoasset staking (9Z6). Firms doing these by way of business in the UK will need FSMA authorisation instead of MLR registration, and existing registrations do not convert automatically. The full scope applies from 25 October 2027.
  4. On 30 June 2026 the FCA published its final rules in five policy statements: PS26/9 on admissions, disclosures and a market abuse regime for cryptoassets; PS26/10 on stablecoin issuance; PS26/11 on trading platforms, intermediaries, custody, lending, borrowing and staking; PS26/12 on prudential requirements; and PS26/13 on applying the wider FCA Handbook. The application window for firms wanting to rely on the savings provisions is scheduled to open on 30 September 2026 and close on 28 February 2027. Firms applying in time may keep operating while their application is assessed; firms applying later may have to stop until authorised. Until then, the MLR and promotions rules continue.
  5. Stablecoins get two regulators. The FCA will regulate all qualifying stablecoins issued from an establishment in the UK. If HM Treasury recognises a stablecoin as systemic, the Bank of England becomes jointly responsible, including for prudential rules, and its rules require an overseas issuer of a systemic sterling stablecoin to set up a UK legal entity. For international exchanges and brokers, FG26/7 sets the FCA’s baseline expectation that regulated cryptoasset activities be carried on from a UK legal entity, with possible exceptions for overseas trading platforms using a UK branch where home-country regulation is comparable. A Government draft of April 2026 proposes moving dealing and arranging in UK-issued stablecoins to a future payments regime.
  6. This regime is phasing in, so dates matter. As of October 2026, the Cryptoassets Regulations are law, the FCA’s rules are final, and the application window is open, but most new obligations bite only from 25 October 2027. FG26/7 also points firms to a revised test of what counts as carrying on regulated activities in the United Kingdom, which depends partly on the firm’s UK client base. A practical check: for any platform used by UK customers, look it up on the FCA Register and Warning List, note whether it is MLR-registered, FSMA-authorised or neither, and note which legal entity serves UK users. Country-level UK detail continues in lesson 8.2.6.

Key facts

  • Since 10 January 2020, cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers carrying on business in the UK must register with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations.
  • From 8 October 2023, the UK financial promotions regime has applied to all firms marketing qualifying cryptoassets to UK consumers, including overseas firms.
  • Communicating a cryptoasset promotion outside the four lawful routes breaches section 21 of FSMA, punishable by up to two years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
  • The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 were passed by Parliament on 4 February 2026.
  • The FCA published its final cryptoasset rules in policy statements PS26/9 to PS26/13 on 30 June 2026, applying to firms authorised on or after 25 October 2027.
  • The FCA’s application window for firms relying on the savings provisions is scheduled to run from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027.

Exercise nine, six, three, one

9CollectList up to 9 crypto businesses or promotions that reach people in the UK, such as exchanges, wallet apps, influencer posts or sponsorships.
6ClusterSort them into 6 categories: FSMA-authorised firms, MLR-registered firms, overseas firms marketing into the UK, promotions approved by an authorised firm, promotions with no visible route, and businesses whose status you cannot find.
3DistillReduce the 6 categories to 3 groups: clearly within a lawful route today, clearly outside one, and dependent on the regime starting on 25 October 2027.
1CrystallizeWrite 1 sentence explaining why FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regulations is not the same as FCA authorisation.

Fact check

Dates, figures and claims checked against the published sources listed below.

Open in the interactive academy →

PT ES ZH JA KO RU DE FR MS