The UK's new crypto rules from October 2027: what changes for consumers

For years, UK crypto firms only had to register with the FCA for anti-money-laundering purposes, and the FCA was clear that registration didn’t mean customers were protected. That is changing. From 25 October 2027, crypto moves into mainstream financial regulation, with firms needing full authorisation and following many of the same rules as banks, brokers and investment firms.

This guide explains what the FCA’s final rules, published as a series of policy statements in 2026, mean for you as a customer.

The legal basis

The new regime rests on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which Parliament passed on 4 February 2026. They brought a broad range of crypto activities within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter for the first time. The FCA then published its final rules as a package of policy statements on 30 June 2026, covering stablecoin issuance, the regulated activities, admissions and disclosures, market abuse, prudential requirements and how the FCA Handbook applies.

The timeline

• Now: crypto exchange and custody firms must be registered with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations, and crypto promotions to UK consumers have to follow the FCA’s financial promotion rules. See how to check a crypto exchange is registered.
• 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027: the application window for firms seeking authorisation.
• 25 October 2027: the full scope of the new regulated activities takes effect.

Who will need authorisation

The FCA says its policy statements set final rules for firms that carry on regulated cryptoasset activities, including:

• operating a trading platform (the FCA calls these “qualifying cryptoasset trading platforms”);
• dealing and arranging deals in cryptoassets;
• safeguarding (custody) of customers’ cryptoassets;
• staking, and lending and borrowing;
• issuing stablecoins in the UK.

For DeFi, the FCA intends to apply its rules where there’s an identifiable controlling entity, with separate guidance to follow. See what is DeFi?

What changes for customers

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman

Most authorised crypto firms will have to follow the FCA’s complaints-handling rules, and the FCA is extending the Financial Ombudsman Service’s compulsory jurisdiction to complaints about the new regulated crypto activities. That gives eligible customers, such as consumers and small businesses, a way to seek redress without going to court.

There’s a limit: the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction won’t cover complaints from non-UK customers of overseas platforms authorised through a UK branch.

No FSCS compensation

The FCA has decided not to extend Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) cover to the new regulated crypto activities. It said it’s too early to identify clear benefits and to assess fully the wider risks, so it can’t conclude that the benefits of FSCS protection would outweigh the risks.

To reduce confusion, firms must use standard wording in the risk summary that accompanies financial promotions, stating that cryptoasset activities are not covered by the FSCS. Firms that safeguard crypto must also explain the protections and risks, including how any shortfall would affect clients if the firm failed. See is your crypto insured?

Consumer Duty and conduct rules

The FCA confirms that most firms will be subject to the Consumer Duty, its conduct of business rules, senior management accountability rules (SM&CR), systems and controls requirements and the client assets rules. In plain terms: firms will be expected to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers, explain fees and terms clearly and manage conflicts of interest.

Safeguarding your crypto

Custody firms will have to follow new safeguarding rules in the FCA’s client assets sourcebook (CASS 17), adapted for crypto custody. These rules are designed to protect customers’ assets if a firm fails, an issue that hurt many customers of failed overseas platforms. See what happens if an exchange goes bust.

Lending, borrowing and staking

The FCA confirms retail protections for crypto lending, borrowing and staking. As we noted in our guide to crypto lending and earn accounts, these include enhanced disclosures, consent, appropriateness testing, record-keeping, over-collateralisation and negative balance protection.

New tokens and disclosures

Before a cryptoasset is admitted to trading on a UK platform serving retail customers, the platform will have to carry out due diligence and ensure a qualifying cryptoasset disclosure document is published and uploaded to an FCA-run central repository, with limited exceptions. The FCA says this is meant to improve transparency and support more informed decisions.

A ban on market abuse

The new Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets will prohibit insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation, with extra monitoring duties for large platforms. The FCA acknowledges that crypto markets are likely to remain comparatively higher risk than established markets. See crypto pump-and-dump schemes.

Stablecoins

UK-issued stablecoins will have rules on backing assets, safeguarding and redemption, and disclosures to holders. Systemic stablecoins will be jointly overseen with the Bank of England. The FCA’s final rules say they must be:

• fully backed and redeemable at par, so they can work as money-like instruments;
• backed by assets held on a statutory trust, with issuers allowed to hold up to a 5% excess in the backing pool;
• clear with holders about their withdrawal rights, with access to historical disclosures.

Stablecoins meeting minimum criteria can also be used to settle trades in the Bank of England and FCA’s Digital Securities Sandbox. And in April 2026 the government published a draft law that would take activities involving UK-issued stablecoins out of the “arranging” and “dealing” rules, with the aim of covering them under a future payments regime instead, so this area may still change. See stablecoins explained.

Capital and resilience

The package also includes a prudential regime for crypto firms, with two new rulebooks, COREPRU and CRYPTOPRU, setting out the FCA’s framework for the financial resources firms must maintain. Prudential rules concern firms’ financial resources and resilience. They don’t remove the risk of a firm failing, and there’s still no FSCS cover.

What doesn’t change

• Crypto stays risky. Regulation doesn’t stop prices from falling.
• No FSCS safety net, as above.
• Tax rules are separate. HMRC’s rules on Capital Gains Tax and income are unaffected. See UK crypto tax.
• Scams won’t disappear. Fraudsters may even use the new rules as a selling point. Check every firm on the FCA Register yourself.

What to do now

1. Check your platform’s status on the FCA Register, and keep checking as October 2027 approaches.
2. Read any notices from your platform about authorisation, changes to terms or changes to services.
3. Keep records of your holdings and transactions, which you need anyway for tax.
4. Be wary of claims about FCA status. Verify any claim of registration or authorisation on the FCA Register yourself.

For the current promotion rules, including the 24-hour cooling-off period for new investors, see how to buy your first bitcoin safely.