Crypto Firms in UK Get Regulatory Application Window Until February

Crypto firms operating or seeking to operate in the U.K. now have five months to apply for authorization under the country’s upcoming digital asset rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened its “authorization gateway” Wednesday, setting the end of February 2027 as the deadline for applications. The new regulatory framework is scheduled to take effect in October 2027.

The U.K. has been developing its crypto regulatory framework since 2022. Its efforts have taken longer than those of some other jurisdictions, including the European Union, which brought its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation into force in June 2023. The timing coincided with the U.K.’s relevant legislation becoming law.

The U.K.’s regulatory plans gained clearer direction late last year when the FCA confirmed that its framework would begin in October 2027. The application window was established ahead of the planned implementation date.

The five-month period gives companies a limited timeframe to prepare their submissions. Firms already registered with the FCA could have some compliance requirements covered, as the existing registration regime has focused mainly on anti-money laundering obligations.

More than 60 crypto companies have secured registration under the current system. Among them is Edinburgh-based crypto infrastructure firm Zumo, which received FCA registration in 2021.

Zumo has since created a “U.K. Cryptoasset Regulation Tracker” designed to outline the obligations firms will face and monitor key dates as the regulatory process advances.

“Everyone else publishing a tracker is a law firm or consultancy. We’re developing ours as industry operators,” Zumo founder and CEO Nick Jones said in an emailed announcement Wednesday.

Jones said the company built the tracker by examining each obligation in the regulatory rules, connecting it with the regulated activity it covers and maintaining the mapping as additional regulatory papers are released.