UK regulators are expected to begin approval of crypto companies in 2026

The UK's crypto industry has more than 12 months to prepare for even more stringent regulatory regimes, said a senior official at the country's financial regulator.

Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told Coindsk in an interview with Coindsk that the “immediate gateway regime” assigned for 2026 would actually be a new approval regime for crypto companies.

“There are gateways that allow approval, but obviously you need to go through those consultations and then you need to create those rules and get the laws that it will take place,” Long said.

This regime leaps from the current Money Laundering (AML) regime. Companies such as Crypto Exchanges Coinbase, Gemini and Bitpanda will move to a license system with a set of product rules as they must register with the country to comply with anti-money laundering rules. This requires a fresh process to ensure approval from the FCA.

The FCA is set to release papers this year on Stablecoins, trading platforms, staking, Prudential's crypto exposure and more. Long said the administration is expected to be published after the final policy paper is published in 2026.

Since the company's money laundering register that opened in 2020, the FCA has received 368 applications from companies they wish to comply, but so far only 50 companies have been approved (14% of applicants). Many companies may have to start again.

Read more: UK financial regulators aim to create a crypto regime by 2026

Regulated Activities

Future laws define what counts as regulated activities, said long-time FCA people. Companies engaged in these activities must seek approval.

In 2023, the former UK government published a paper stating that regulated activities would likely include not only payment, exchange and lending activities, but also encryption and FIAT reference stubcoin issuance.

Former economic secretary Tulip Siddiq said Stablecoins will no longer be brought under UK payment regulations, as set out in previous jobs. The FCA will discuss Stablecoins' draft rules earlier this year.

“What we're doing with stubcoins is that we're making sure we do our best from the current regulations that exist in Tradfi, but Stablecoins are ultimately unique,” says Long. “Nothing is exactly the same. We need to adapt the regulations we currently have.”

Read more: Early next year, UK to draft Crypto, Stablecoins regulatory framework

transition

The FCA is still determining the process that Crypto companies will need to go through to be approved, Long said.

It will be necessary for those already registered in the money laundering regime for a long time, but the new regime has broader permissions, so he added that it is “an undecided step.”

Therefore, businesses may need to go through a long registration process, even if they already have existing licenses.

“We communicate with businesses about what the gateway will look like before it's public. Our intention is to bring live shows as quickly as possible as humanly possible,” Long said of the licensing regime.

In devising how it intends to move forward, regulators plan to also consider Europe, which launched custom-built laws for the crypto sector and the International Securities Commission's 18 recommendations. Iosco will soon be publishing an article on how the country is progressing with that standard, said someone familiar with the issue.

“This is when you understand and look for best practices,” Long said.

Read more: UK crypto companies and regulators take responsibility for each other for the escape of the industry