The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, published final rules covering crypto asset companies on June 29. New framework; It introduces detailed rules for capital adequacy, market abuse, stablecoin issuance, custody, trading platforms, credit services and staking activities. The UK has thus become one of the few major jurisdictions, along with the European Union, to establish a comprehensive national crypto regulatory system.
Authorization process and capital requirements
Under the new regime, crypto companies that want to operate in the UK or serve customers in the country will need to apply for authorization with the FCA between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027. Existing anti-money laundering records will not be automatically migrated to this system. The actual entry into force date of the rules was determined as 25 October 2027.
The FCA has imposed a single capital requirement of 40% of net exposure positions for the acceptance of eligible crypto assets on UK trading platforms. The agency has backed away from the two-tiered risk approach previously considered. The capital coefficient considered for stablecoin issuers was also determined as 1% instead of 2%, following negotiations with the industry.
Mini dictionary: Net risk position refers to the remaining part of an organization’s total risk in certain assets after hedging or balancing transactions. Regulators use this measure to calculate how much capital a company must hold against sudden price movements.
Crypto companies will also have to conduct stress tests every year. With these tests, they will be expected to show the FCA whether they can absorb large losses in sharp market declines. Unlike Bank of England practices, companies will prepare the scenarios, and the FCA will examine the results and use them for surveillance purposes.
David Geale said this package serves two key purposes: protecting the consumer and giving the UK a competitive advantage. Geale emphasized that for the first time, a holistic crypto regulatory framework has been established that covers how companies transact, store assets, serve customers and manage risk.
Market abuse enforcement expands
Crypto assets listed on UK-based trading platforms that will operate under FCA jurisdiction will be subject to similar rules to listed securities in terms of insider trading and market manipulation. Platforms with annual turnover exceeding £10 million will also be required to share surveillance data with each other to make it easier to detect cross-platform manipulation.
The regulator retained two activities as permissible market practices. One of these was coin burning, which permanently reduced the token supply, and the other was price stabilization transactions carried out during primary or secondary token sales.
Differences and global impacts with MiCA
Although the UK’s approach shares some common goals with the European Union’s MiCA regulation, it differs in terms of its implementation style. While companies licensed in one country under MiCA can operate throughout the European Union, companies wishing to serve the UK will need to obtain permission directly from the FCA. Additionally, the UK is adopting a more intensive supervision model, with tools such as annual stress tests, a combined net risk position requirement and tighter oversight.
Therefore, international companies such as exchanges, custodians and digital stablecoin issuers will need to establish programs that comply with both MiCA and UK rules. While discussions on crypto regulations at the federal level continue in the USA, the UK has become the first major financial center outside the European Union to implement a comprehensive crypto regime.
Rules do not eliminate risks
The new regulation does not eliminate investment risks. The FCA states that people investing in crypto assets still have the possibility of losing all of the money they invested. AJ Bell market president Dan Coatsworth said regulation could strengthen consumer protection and reduce harm from misleading advertising and bad practices, but could not completely erase risk.
There are also limited exceptions for some foreign organizations. It is considered that certain foreign firms that provide investment services to corporate clients may not have to obtain authorization in the UK. On the other hand, the general framework points to a structure that will directly affect a significant part of the high-volume crypto activities in the country.
The FCA’s pre-application support process will begin in July 2026. With the application window opening in September 2026, companies will be given approximately a year to prepare for one of the world’s most comprehensive crypto regulatory initiatives.
