Law and Practice
The UK's legislative framework for the regulation of derivatives markets and products is comprised of a mixture of domestic and EU-derived rules and regulations. The key pieces of legislation and regulations that impact the UK derivatives markets include the following:
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)
- Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO)
- European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR)
- The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFID II and MiFIR)
- Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT)
Derivatives can also fall within, or be affected by, a number of other legislative frameworks in the UK, including the Short Selling Regulation, Market Abuse Regulation, Benchmarks Regulation, Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation, Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive, Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), and capital rules.
The "Derivatives 2025: Law and Practice – England and Wales" section of the guide provides:
- an overview of derivatives;
- derivative types;
- national regulation;
- documentation issues; and
- enforcement trends.
"Derivatives 2025: Law and Practice – England and Wales," Chambers and Partners, September 2, 2025
Trends and Developments
The UK's approach to cryptoasset regulation has been generally characterized by a significant level of caution. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the approach by the UK regulators to the retail market in cryptoasset derivatives, where a ban has been in place since January 2021. Recently, however, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has begun to reconsider certain aspects of its ban, which raises the possibility that the UK will join other leading jurisdictions in embracing the cryptoasset derivative markets and boosting London’s role as a key financial center in this sector.
The "Derivatives 2025: Trends and Developments – England and Wales" section of the guide reviews:
- the history of the FCA retail ban on cryptoasset derivatives;
- developments in the cryptoasset derivatives markets;
- developments in the United Kingdom;
- new proposals to permit cETNs for UK retail investors; and
- prospects for the future.
"Derivatives 2025: Trends and Developments – England and Wales," Chambers and Partners, September 2, 2025
Additional Katten-authored sections in the "Capital Markets: Derivatives 2025" Guide:
"Derivatives 2025 – Global Overview," Chambers and Partners, September 2, 2025
