The UK’s crypto rulebook stopped being a consultation and became a queue. On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority opened its crypto authorisation gateway — the formal application process every firm will need to pass to keep offering crypto services in Britain once the new regime starts.
The key date isn’t the regime’s start in October 2027. It is February 28, 2027: the deadline for existing firms to get their application in if they want to keep operating without interruption. Miss it, and the clock runs out.
Key facts
- The FCA opened its crypto authorisation gateway on September 30, 2026.
- Crypto firms that want to keep operating in the UK must apply by February 28, 2027.
- The new UK crypto regime takes effect on October 25, 2027; the FCA finalised the rules in June 2026.
- Authorisation covers crypto trading, transactions, staking and custody, with rules on admissions and disclosures, market abuse, prudential requirements and consumer protection.
- Existing FCA anti-money-laundering registration, required since 2020, does not convert automatically into authorisation.
- Firms that apply within the window can keep serving customers, including new ones, while the FCA assesses them.
What did the FCA launch on September 30, 2026?
On September 30, 2026, the FCA began accepting applications from firms that want to be authorised under the UK’s new crypto regime. Existing crypto businesses must apply by February 28, 2027 to keep operating; the regime itself takes effect on October 25, 2027, based on rules the regulator finalised in June 2026.
The scope is broad. According to The Block, the regime covers trading, transactions, staking and custody, and comes with a full set of rules on admissions and disclosures, market abuse, prudential requirements and consumer protection. In other words, it looks much more like traditional financial services regulation than the AML-only registration UK crypto firms have lived with since 2020.
The timeline in one place:
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| June 2026 | FCA finalises the crypto rules |
| September 30, 2026 | Authorisation gateway opens |
| February 28, 2027 | Deadline for existing firms to apply and keep operating |
| October 25, 2027 | New UK crypto regime takes effect |
Applying in time keeps the doors open
The transition is designed to avoid a cliff edge. Firms that apply inside the window can keep serving customers — including signing up new ones — while their applications are being assessed. Firms that can’t meet the requirements won’t be allowed to offer regulated crypto services in the UK once the regime starts, as CoinMarketCap Academy reports.
Registration was a checkbox. Authorisation is an exam.
Does existing FCA crypto registration carry over?
No. A firm’s existing FCA anti-money-laundering registration, which UK crypto businesses have needed since 2020, does not convert automatically into authorisation under the new regime. Every firm that wants to keep operating has to submit a new application and be assessed against the full set of requirements.
The FCA was blunt about it. “Authorization will not be automatic,” said Dominic Cashman, the regulator’s director of authorisation, according to CoinMarketCap Academy.
That closes off an easy assumption. Being on the AML register showed a firm could meet money-laundering checks; the new regime asks about everything else too — how customer assets are held, how the firm handles market abuse, whether it has enough capital. A firm that cleared the first bar has no guarantee on the second.
What will the FCA look at in crypto applications?
The FCA says it will assess applicants on four areas: consumer protection, safeguarding of customer assets, market integrity and financial resilience. Firms that hold customers’ crypto — custodians — face particular scrutiny, according to CoinMarketCap Academy.
Custody is the pressure point
Safeguarding customer assets is one of the four tests, and custodians get the closest look. For exchanges and brokers that keep user balances, that is likely to be the most demanding part of the application. For firms that never hold client coins, the custody questions are narrower — but the rest of the regime still applies to whatever regulated activity they carry out.
Industry reaction
Industry voices welcomed the move. Emma Banymandhub of The Payments Association said the gateway “moves policy into practical delivery”, according to The Block.
What it means for UK crypto users and swap users
For UK users, the gateway is the start of a sorting process. Over the next 13 months, some platforms will be authorised, some will be assessed while still operating, and some will leave the UK market. If you keep funds on a centralised platform, it is worth checking whether it applies before February 28, 2027 — and worth asking whether you need to leave balances there at all. We covered how exchange-side risk plays out in our piece on CEX risk.
The regime’s focus on safeguarding also underlines a simpler point: the less of your crypto sits with an intermediary, the less depends on that intermediary’s licence. SwapZilla is built that way — there is no account and no balance. You compare quotes from licensed exchange providers, send coins to a deposit address and receive the output in your own wallet; the swap is executed by the provider you choose, under its own compliance rules; SwapZilla publishes its own AML policy. The full flow is in how it works.
Final thoughts
The UK has spent years drafting crypto rules. On September 30, 2026, it started applying them firm by firm. The dates are now fixed: apply by February 28, 2027, comply by October 25, 2027.
The gateway won’t change much for users overnight. Its real effect will show over the next 13 months, as the list of platforms allowed to serve UK customers is redrawn from scratch.
Rules arrive slowly, then all at once — on a deadline.