FCA Sets Final UK Crypto Trading and Stablecoin Rules

The Financial Conduct Authority published final rules on 30 June for firms supporting UK customers that buy, trade and hold cryptoassets.

The framework covers crypto trading platforms, intermediaries, custodians, stablecoin issuers and firms arranging staking. The FCA said firms will need authorisation to operate in the UK, meet financial resilience requirements including capital and stress testing, and comply with market integrity rules covering issues such as insider trading and market manipulation.

The regulator also set specific standards for stablecoins. It said it simplified parts of the regime after consultation, including capital requirements for stablecoin firms and trading rules designed to better reflect how crypto markets operate.

Why it matters

Crypto platforms serving UK traders now have a clearer compliance timetable. Pre-application support meetings are available from July, the authorisation gateway opens on 30 September 2026, and firms can apply until 28 February 2027.

For traders, the key change is that crypto venues and service providers will move closer to the standards expected of regulated financial firms. That may affect which platforms continue serving the UK, how products are supervised, and how firms handle custody, market abuse controls and operational resilience.

What to watch next

The mandatory regime comes into force on 25 October 2027. Before then, watch for the FCA’s September policy statement on the crypto regulatory perimeter, further guidance on DeFi and operational resilience, and how major exchanges sequence their UK authorisation applications.