The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set clear timeframes for the crypto industry's transition to new regulatory requirements. Companies wishing to operate legally with UK clients will be able to apply for full authorisation between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027. The new regulatory regime, based on provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act, will officially come into effect on 25 October 2027.

FCA Executive Director David Gill emphasised that the newly developed framework successfully balances strict regulatory certainty with room for business growth, creating a competitive and stable jurisdiction. Obtaining a licence will become mandatory for a wide range of market participants: issuers of regulated stablecoins, custodial services, trading platform operators, dealers, brokers, and staking service providers. The current registration under anti-money laundering (AML) rules will not automatically convert into the new licence — all firms will have to go through the process from scratch.

To avoid a sudden shock to the market, the FCA has put in place transitional mechanisms. Companies that submit their applications within the designated window will be able to continue operating seamlessly until the regulator reaches a decision. Those that fail to obtain approval or miss the deadline will have up to two years to wind down their business: they will be allowed to fulfil existing contracts but will be prohibited from taking on new UK clients. The regulator also made concessions to the industry: capital requirements for stablecoin issuers were lowered from 2% to 1%, and "genuine" decentralised finance (DeFi) without a clearly identifiable operator was left entirely outside the scope of the new rules.

These moves come amid a global harmonisation of crypto laws. Earlier, US and European regulators signed a memorandum on joint cross‑border oversight of the stablecoin market, marking the beginning of a new era of international control over digital assets.