Buying and selling crypto in the UK from October 2027: what the FCA's trading rules change

Today, most UK crypto platforms only need to be registered with the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes. That changes on 25 October 2027, when the FCA’s full crypto regime takes effect. Its final rules for trading platforms and brokers set out how buying and selling crypto will work for UK retail customers.

This guide covers what changes when you trade: which tokens you can buy, where your orders go, the price you get, and the conflicts firms must manage. For the wider regime, including safeguarding and the Financial Ombudsman, see the UK’s new crypto rules for 2027.

Two kinds of firm

The FCA’s final rules, in its policy statement PS26/11, distinguish between:

• trading platforms, which the FCA calls qualifying cryptoasset trading platforms, where buyers’ and sellers’ orders meet; and
• intermediaries, such as brokers and apps that deal as principal, deal as agent or arrange deals for customers.

Platforms must obtain FCA authorisation if they operate in the UK or serve UK consumers from overseas. The FCA says firms seeking authorisation should have a UK presence; in some cases, an overseas platform can be authorised through a UK branch, which brings the whole overseas firm within scope of UK rules.

Which tokens you’ll be able to buy

The biggest change for retail customers is a list of eligible tokens. Under the final rules:

• UK retail customers can generally only access tokens admitted to trading for retail investors on a UK-authorised platform, with a qualifying cryptoasset disclosure document (QCDD);
• the exception is UK-issued qualifying stablecoins;
• platforms must point you to the QCDD before you place an order;
• brokers and apps can only deal or arrange deals for UK retail clients in tokens that meet those conditions, and that haven’t been withdrawn from trading on all UK platforms.

Some respondents argued this would delay access to new tokens and push people offshore. The FCA kept the rules largely as proposed.

Where your orders go

When a broker or app executes, or passes on, an order for a UK retail client, the order must be executed on a UK-authorised execution venue. If a firm arranges deals in other ways, it must take all reasonable steps to make sure the arrangement only results in execution on a UK-authorised venue.

A firm dealing with retail clients as principal also must not systematically or predominantly source its prices from an unauthorised overseas platform in its own group. The FCA says these measures keep consumer-facing services within UK regulation.

Getting a fair price: best execution

Firms executing orders must follow best execution rules, broadly aligned with traditional finance. The FCA clarified that firms should:

• check prices from at least three reliable UK-authorised execution venues where possible;
• back their arrangements with periodic post-trade analysis.

They don’t have to execute on those venues, or mechanically check every trade, as long as their overall arrangements are effective. The FCA also warned against over-reliance on a single, often affiliated venue or on internal pricing.

Conflicts of interest

Crypto firms often play several roles at once. The final rules address this:

• Payment for order flow, where a broker is paid for routing orders, is unlikely to meet the FCA’s requirements when serving retail or professional clients. The FCA said it may encourage over-reliance on the liquidity providers that pay most.
• Brokers that also trade for themselves are expected to keep proprietary trading functionally separate from client order execution, and to take further steps where that isn’t enough.
• A platform can act as a matched principal dealer, subject to conditions, in line with recent rule changes for traditional trading venues.
• A platform can admit tokens in which it has a financial interest, and let its affiliates trade on it, if it has policies to manage the conflicts; rules on non-discriminatory access aim to stop affiliates getting preferential treatment.
• Personal account dealing rules apply to staff, to manage conflicts and the risk of misuse of inside information.
• Platforms must document and disclose any incentive schemes or arrangements with market makers.

What platforms must tell you

For all users, platforms must provide clear, timely information on:

• terms and fees;
• trading rules;
• settlement arrangements;
• conflicts of interest.

These disclosures fall under the FCA’s Consumer Duty where consumers are involved. Platforms must also notify users if a token is withdrawn from trading.

Settlement

Firms can choose to settle trades on their own books or arrange settlement externally, and can settle off-chain where that’s more cost-effective. The FCA’s guidance says it expects settlement to be initiated within 24 hours of a trade being executed.

The rules at a glance

What it means for you

• Expect a shorter list of tokens for UK retail customers, at least at first, but each with a disclosure document.
• Expect more information on fees, conflicts and how prices are set.
• Check that any platform you use is authorised once the regime starts. See how to check if a crypto exchange is registered.
• Market abuse rules arrive at the same time. See insider trading in crypto.