Crypto businesses seeking to operate in the U.K. must now apply for authorization within a five-month window opened by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The regulator launched its “authorization gateway” on Wednesday, with companies able to file applications until the end of February 2027. The process comes ahead of the FCA’s planned introduction of a new regulatory framework in October 2027.
The U.K. has been working toward formal oversight of the crypto sector for several years. Legislative efforts began in 2022, although the country’s progress has been slower than that of some other major markets.
The European Union, for example, brought its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation into force in June 2023. At around the same time, the U.K.’s relevant legislation was only becoming law.
The regulatory timetable became clearer late last year, when the FCA announced that its framework for crypto companies would take effect in October 2027. The authorization period was scheduled to open ahead of that launch.
The February 2027 cutoff leaves firms five months to prepare their applications. Companies that are already registered under the FCA’s existing crypto regime could have some of the required compliance work completed, since the current system has primarily focused on anti-money laundering controls.
More than 60 companies have received registration under the existing regime, including Edinburgh-based crypto infrastructure firm Zumo, which was registered in 2021. The company has developed a “U.K. Cryptoasset Regulation Tracker” that outlines expected requirements and tracks upcoming 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.
Jones said creating the tracker required Zumo to examine the rules at the level of individual obligations, identify the regulated activity connected to each requirement and keep the information updated as additional regulatory documents are published.
