The FCA has finalised core rules for the UK’s new cryptoasset regime, giving firms a limited window to prepare for authorisation and implementation.
On 30 June 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the core final rules and guidance for the UK’s new cryptoasset regime. The timing is important: the publications arrived three months before the FCA’s authorisation gateway opens on 30 September 2026, and less than sixteen months before the new regime is expected to come into force on 25 October 2027.
The package marks a turning point. After several years of consultations and policy development, UK crypto regulation has moved from design to implementation. Firms now have a large body of final rules and guidance to digest, and a relatively short window in which to assess their business models, determine required permissions, and prepare authorisation applications.
The new regime will move the UK beyond the current limited framework of anti-money laundering registration and cryptoasset financial promotions. In-scope firms will be brought into a broader regime under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) covering authorisation, conduct, prudential standards, safeguarding, market integrity, Consumer Duty, operational resilience and senior management accountability.
This article does not attempt to summarise every rule. Instead, it focuses on what has landed, the key pressure points, and what firms should be doing now.
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