The FCA published the cryptoasset regulatory framework on 30 June 2026, establishing a new regime for firms operating in the UK crypto market. The FCA and Bank of England (BoE) also issued a joint approach to overseeing systemic stablecoin issuers.
The FCA’s framework introduces prudential, conduct and market integrity requirements, alongside bespoke rules for stablecoin issuers. Firms undertaking regulated crypto activities, including trading, custody, intermediation and staking, will require FCA authorisation before the regime takes effect.
Following extensive consultations, the FCA has simplified several requirements to improve proportionality and reflect how crypto markets operate.
The authorisation gateway opens on 30 September 2026. The regime comes into force on 25 October 2027.
In this article
What does this mean?
Admissions & disclosures and Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets
The FCA published the Admissions & Disclosures (A&D) and Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets. Retail UK qualifying cryptoasset trading platforms (UK QCATPs) will undertake due diligence before admitting qualifying cryptoassets and ensure a qualifying cryptoasset disclosure document (QCDD) is published. The FCA removed the proposed fungibility exemption, requiring a QCDD for each admitted cryptoasset, clarified due diligence requirements, and introduced a Digital Token Identifier standard. For the Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets (MARC), the FCA clarified inside information requirements, narrowed on-chain monitoring for large UK QCATPs to wallets linked to their platforms, removed the proposed 'legitimate reasons' exemption, and simplified insider list requirements. The FCA also intends to consult on transitional arrangements for cryptoassets already in circulation before the regime takes effect.
Stablecoin issuance
The FCA issued its regime for non-systemic UK-issued qualifying stablecoins, covering issuance, backing assets, redemption, safeguarding and disclosures. Following consultation, the FCA simplified the backing asset composition requirement by removing forward-looking redemption forecasts, permitted limited intragroup custody subject to safeguards, introduced a 5% permitted excess in the backing asset pool, removed unallocated backing fund accounts, and confirmed backing assets must be held under a statutory trust. The final rules also require all minted stablecoins to be fully backed, amend the redemption process so AML/KYC checks are completed before the T+1 redemption period begins, simplify disclosure requirements, clarify secondary market redemption rights, and retain the prohibition on issuers passing interest from backing assets to tokenholders.
Regulated cryptoasset activities
The FCA finalised its conduct rules for cryptoasset trading platforms, intermediaries, lending and borrowing, safeguarding, staking and DeFi, retaining the overall framework while making targeted changes following consultation. Key changes include removing pre-trade transparency requirements for principal dealers, clarifying that best execution does not require transaction-by-transaction checks, and confirming firms should check prices from at least three reliable UK-authorised execution venues where available. The FCA also extended execution venue requirements to a wider range of arranging activities and retained retail restrictions linking access to qualifying cryptoassets to admission on a UK QCATP. It plans to consult on transitional deferrals for execution policies, execution venue requirements and admissions to trading.
Safeguarding, lending and staking
The FCA finalised safeguarding rules requiring client cryptoassets to be held under a trust, while introducing additional exceptions, including for firms providing back-up key services where clients retain full control. Following consultation, the FCA increased the permitted settlement float for UK QCATPs from 1% to 2%, decided not to apply the new regime to relevant specified investment cryptoassets (RSICs) at this stage, removed the requirement for daily reviews of means of access records, and introduced an exception for back-up key providers.
The FCA retained its proposed consumer protections for cryptoasset lending and borrowing, including appropriateness assessments, express consent, over-collateralisation, negative balance protection and restrictions on proprietary tokens. For staking, the FCA amended its proposals to permit auto-staking, allowing firms to obtain consent covering current and future holdings of specified cryptoassets rather than requiring consent for each individual staking transaction, while introducing annual client notifications. The FCA also confirmed that firms engaging in DeFi will remain within scope where there is an identifiable controlling person, and will consult separately on DeFi guidance later this year.
Prudential regime for cryptoasset firms
The FCA has finalised a prudential framework for regulated cryptoasset firms covering capital, liquidity, risk management and public disclosures. The framework broadly follows the structure of existing prudential regimes, particularly MIFIDPRU, while introducing crypto-specific requirements for firms undertaking regulated cryptoasset activities. Following consultation, the FCA retained the overall architecture but made targeted recalibrations to improve proportionality. These include reducing the operational risk capital requirement for stablecoin issuance from 2% to 1%, simplifying the market risk framework and introducing a more proportionate disclosure regime.
Capital, liquidity and risk management
The final regime introduces activity-based minimum capital requirements, operational and exposure-based K-factor capital requirements, liquidity requirements and an overall risk assessment framework. Firms must maintain sufficient own funds and liquid assets based on the higher of permanent minimum capital, fixed overheads and K-factor requirements, while also assessing whether additional capital or liquidity is required through their own risk assessment. The FCA simplified the market risk framework by replacing the proposed two-category approach with a single 40% capital requirement for prudently valued cryptoassets admitted to a UK qualifying cryptoasset trading platform. Cryptoassets that cannot be prudently valued, or are not admitted to a UK qualifying cryptoasset trading platform, must be deducted from regulatory capital. The FCA also retained separate prudential treatment for stablecoin issuers, including issuer-specific liquidity requirements linked to backing assets, and introduced proportionality by exempting firms whose capital requirement is driven solely by the permanent minimum requirement from detailed prudential disclosure obligations.
FCA Handbook
The FCA confirmed that regulated cryptoasset firms will generally be subject to the same FCA Handbook standards as other authorised firms. These standards include the Consumer Duty, COBS, SYSC, SM&CR, CASS, operational resilience, financial crime, complaints handling and regulatory reporting. Following consultation, the FCA confirmed the Consumer Duty will apply to regulated cryptoasset activities, with limited exemptions for trading between participants on UK qualifying cryptoasset trading platforms, while UK-issued qualifying stablecoins remain within scope. The FCA also adjusted the SM&CR enhanced threshold for stablecoin issuers, excluded UK-issued qualifying stablecoins from the Restricted Mass Market Investment regime, refined CASS and reporting requirements, and confirmed that consumers will have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service but not the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Joint regulation of systemic stablecoin issuers
The FCA and BoE published a consultation setting out how the UK's joint regulatory framework for systemic stablecoin issuers will operate in practice. The proposals cover the allocation of supervisory responsibilities between the FCA and BoE, transition arrangements for firms moving from FCA-only to joint supervision, and a phased approach allowing firms typically 12–36 months to meet the BoE's prudential requirements after recognition as systemic by HM Treasury.
The consultation also proposes a mobilisation and scaling approach for firms recognised as systemic at launch, including a temporary step-up backing asset regime. The authorities confirmed that certain stablecoins will be permitted as settlement assets in the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) to support live testing and inform the future regulatory framework for wholesale financial markets. The consultation closes on 30 September 2026.
What do firms need to do?
Treat authorisation as a business transformation, not just an application.
Adjust governance, policies and controls to cater for the activities you intend to undertake.
Engage with the FCA before the authorisation gateway opens.
Firms planning to undertake regulated cryptoasset activities should start preparing now. Existing FCA-authorised firms will need to assess whether they require a variation of permission, while firms that are not yet authorised will need to prepare for full authorisation. Firms should determine which regulated activities they intend to undertake, assess how the new framework affects their business and operating model, and ensure their governance, systems, controls, financial resources and senior management arrangements meet the FCA's expectations.
The new regime introduces requirements across conduct, prudential standards, safeguarding, operational resilience, financial crime, regulatory reporting and the Consumer Duty. These requirements are interconnected and should be implemented as a single operating framework rather than a series of standalone compliance projects. Firms should engage with the FCA's pre-application support process ahead of the authorisation gateway opening on 30 September 2026. Early planning will be particularly important where firms need to enhance governance, redesign operating models, implement new technology and controls, or establish UK legal entities and regulated cryptoasset capabilities.
“This is a pivotal moment for the UK and a regulatory regime which has the potential to set the new global standard. Now the hard work begins. Firms need to substantiate their ability to scale robust, risk-managed and compliant solutions. We have a firm place to stand, now it is time to redefine UK financial services.”
James Moseley
Partner, PwC UK Digital Assets Lead
Next steps
The FCA will host a webinar on 17 July 2026, with pre-application support available from July.
The authorisation gateway will open on 30 September 2026, allowing firms to apply until 28 February 2027, ahead of the regime taking effect on 25 October 2027.
The FCA will publish a further policy statement in September 2026 on the regulatory perimeter for cryptoasset activities. Later this year, it will consult on DeFi guidance, DLT operational resilience and updates to the Financial Crime Guide.
Contacts
James Moseley
Michael Snapes
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