The roadmap will consist of a variety of dates and key mandates involved in the application and authorisation processes for the UK’s new regulatory crypto market wider in scope.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling on all cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) to start thinking about their applications now for the UK’s new crypto regulatory market.
The FCA confirmed in its ‘New regime for cryptoassets regulation’ webinar today (January 29) the date for the regulatory market to launch is October 25, 2027.
The application process for all incumbent CASPs intending to launch services in the UK starts in August 2026 for pre-applications, September 30 for official submissions, with 28 February 2027 the deadline for application submissions.
As the UK’s crypto market is moving from an anti-money laundering-focused regime to a more expanded market under the Financial Services Markets Act (FSMA), the FCA has implored interested parties to begin assessing current FSMA guidelines and the Statutory Instrument’s proposals for cryptoassets.
These proposals for regulated activities include CASPs: issuing qualifying stablecoins, operating a qualified cryptoassets trading platform, dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as principle and as an agent, among others.
“Start building your plan, I can not say that often enough,” says Val Smith, Head of Department, Payments and Digital Assets Authorisations at the FCA, during the webinar.
“We don’t expect everything to be in place immediately, but expect to be organised and have credible plans to operate at the appropriate times.”
The application process
The cryptoasset firms who are already registered with the FCA under its money-laundering rules (MLR) will still have to re-apply to become part of the FSMA regulated market.
Other firms the FCA outlined who will have to apply in order to undertake cryptoasset activities include FSMA-authorised firms, firms not registered under MLR, payments and e-money firms.
Due to FSMA expanding the scope of regulations, the assessment of applications will be much broader. While MLR areas remain, FSMA assessments; operational resilience, client assets, governance, financial crime, market abuse and more, will now be part of the application process.
The FCA also stated that applicants must acknowledge new regulatory capital holdings of cryptoassets, the hiring of specialised employees to undertake the regulatory process and to be cleared by the FCA’s fit and proper assessment, as well as displaying core principles of integrity.
Firms will be able to engage with the FCA as part of its pre-application support service (PASS) from July 2026. The FCA views PASS as the “starting point” of onboarding and applications.
The regulator has also suggested to firms to engage with several webinars throughout 2026 and provide feedback on consultations for greater understanding of the application process and what is required of them.
Applications will then be open for submission on September 30 for initial review and feedback, followed by further assessments, interviews and additional feedback, before the FCA can approve or decline the application.
Firms who have previously declined applications to be under the FCA’s MLR, the regulator stated they can still apply for the FSMA framework.
Saving and transitional provisions
For firms that apply for authorisation during the application period, if the application is successful, they will be an authorised FSMA operator. If the application is still being assessed past the October 25, 2027, launch date, they will enter the savings provision.
The savings provision enables extra time for the application before it can be finalised, or, the application could then be moved into the transitional provision regime.
The transitional provision is in place for firms that apply after the October 25, 2027 launch date or who have been unsuccessful during the application period.
Firms operating in the savings provision can continue operating their cryptoasset provisions as if the regime has yet started. Unsuccessful applications during this provision must run-off its UK business.
The transitional period mandates that firms can continue providing existing cryptoassets services to existing business and customers. Firms must not, however, provide new business services and must not enrol new customers, to either existing or new services.
Paul Ullah, Manager, Payments and digital assets authorisations at the FCA, references the transitional period as a “no new business or customer regime”.
