Financial Markets and Funds Partner Christopher Collins offered insights to Fintechly on the significant hurdles cryptocurrency businesses will face seeking authorization under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new regulatory regime, set to go live in October 2027.
Chris highlighted a structural advantage of the UK regime over the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the EU. The UK benefits from a single regulator reviewing authorization applications, with support from the FCA’s pre-application support service. He noted that firms already authorized for other regulated activities will find aspects of the new regime familiar, while those holding only anti-money laundering (AML) registration face “comparatively more new obligations to contend with.”
Chris also addressed a key area of uncertainty for firms considering the overseas Qualifying Cryptoasset Trading Platform (QCATP) model, which would allow businesses to operate an FCA-authorized UK branch of an existing overseas platform alongside a British subsidiary for non-branch activities. The model is designed to preserve access to global liquidity by allowing UK customers to trade through established overseas platforms rather than a ring-fenced UK pool. However, the FCA has not yet identified which overseas jurisdictions will satisfy its requirement for a “comparable level of regulatory protection” — a gap Chris described as a critical obstacle to planning. He added that without upfront clarity on acceptable jurisdictions, the offshore branch model “may well be a non-starter.”
“Most crypto firms will not clear FCA authorisation,” Fintechly, July 14, 2026
*Subscription may be required for article access.
London
