Crypto companies planning to operate in the U.K. now have five months to seek authorization from the country’s financial regulator as the government moves toward a new digital asset framework.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) opened its “authorization gateway” on Wednesday, allowing firms to submit applications through the end of February 2027.
The new regime has followed several years of legislative work, with the U.K.’s initial efforts to establish a formal framework for digital assets beginning in 2022.
The U.K. has moved more slowly than some other major jurisdictions in introducing comprehensive crypto regulation. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation came into effect in June 2023, roughly when the U.K.’s corresponding legislation was only reaching the statute books.
Momentum increased late last year when the FCA said its new framework was scheduled to take effect in October 2027. The application period was set to precede the launch, giving crypto businesses time to seek authorization before the rules become effective.
Firms now have until February 2027 to complete what amounts to a five-month application process. Businesses already registered with the FCA under its current regime may have some of the necessary compliance work in place, as that system has largely centered on anti-money laundering requirements.
Zumo, a crypto infrastructure company based in Edinburgh, is among the more than 60 firms registered under the existing system. The company obtained its FCA registration in 2021 and has created a “U.K. Cryptoasset Regulation Tracker” to help businesses understand upcoming requirements and follow the timetable for regulatory milestones.
“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.
He added that developing the tracker required the company to examine the regulatory rules down to individual obligations, connect each requirement to the relevant regulated activity and update the information as additional regulatory documents are released.
