FCA Crypto Authorisation: What Changes From 30 September 2026

London — The countdown is now real. From 30 September 2026, crypto firms can start applying to the Financial Conduct Authority for full authorisation under the UK's new cryptoasset regime, with the application gateway running until 28 February 2027 and the regime itself coming into force on 25 October 2027, according to the FCA.

If you hold crypto on a UK platform, this timeline decides which firms will still be serving you in eighteen months — and under what protections. It's worth understanding now, not in October next year.

What's actually happening?

Parliament made the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 on 4 February, bringing cryptoassets inside the FCA's regulatory remit for the first time as a full regime rather than the current anti-money-laundering registration. The new rules will cover stablecoin issuance, trading, custody and staking.

That last word matters. Staking — the thing a large chunk of UK ether holders quietly do through their exchange — becomes a regulated activity. So does holding customer assets, which brings us to the rule causing the most argument in the industry.

The 24-hour custody rule

Under the FCA's proposals, any firm that holds client cryptoassets for more than 24 hours, or that has the ability to override a client's authority over their assets, would be treated as a regulated custodian and need a full safeguarding licence. CoinDesk reported in April that some in the industry see the 24-hour line as a trap for firms that never intended to be custodians — payment processors, for instance, whose transfers occasionally take longer than a day.

From a user's point of view, though, it's hard to see the downside. The firms that hold your coins will need to meet safeguarding standards, hold regulatory capital, and answer to the FCA. The ones that can't, or won't, have until the regime goes live to change their model or leave the UK market.

The dates that matter

The FCA's consultation on perimeter guidance (CP26/13) — the document that tells firms whether their activities need authorisation at all — closed on 3 June 2026, with final guidance expected in September. A policy statement on stablecoin issuance and custody is due over the summer. Then:

30 September 2026: the authorisation gateway opens. 28 February 2027: the gateway closes for firms wanting to be authorised from day one. 25 October 2027: the new regime comes into force.

Firms that miss the gateway window and keep operating after October 2027 without authorisation will be on the wrong side of the law, not just the wrong side of a registration list.

What should UK crypto users do?

Nothing dramatic — but pay attention to two things over the next year.

First, watch what your exchange says about its authorisation plans. Firms intending to stay in the UK will apply between September 2026 and February 2027, and most will say so publicly because it's good marketing. Silence is information too.

Second, expect some platform departures. The UK's existing AML register saw a long queue of withdrawn and rejected applications, and full authorisation is a higher bar. If a platform you use exits the UK, you'll want your assets moved before it does, not after — withdrawals from a winding-down operation are rarely quick.

The regime arriving in October 2027 has been criticised as slow, and fairly. But the gateway opening this September is the moment the UK's crypto industry splits into firms building for the regulated era and firms running out the clock. By next spring, you'll be able to tell which is which.