FCA Consults on Cryptoasset Perimeter Guidance for UK Licensing Regime, April 2026

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP26/13, "Cryptoasset perimeter guidance," setting out draft guidance to clarify which cryptoasset activities will require FCA authorisation under the United Kingdom's new crypto regulatory regime. The consultation is at the proposed stage; the FCA expects to publish final perimeter guidance in autumn 2026.

The legal basis for the new regime is the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which Parliament made in February 2026 to bring specified cryptoasset activities within the FCA's regulatory perimeter. CP26/13 proposes a new chapter — PERG 19 — in the FCA's Perimeter Guidance sourcebook. The consultation covers seven regulated activities: (i) issuing qualifying stablecoins in the UK; (ii) safeguarding, or arranging safeguarding of, qualifying cryptoassets and relevant specified investment cryptoasset types; (iii) operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform; (iv) dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as principal; (v) dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as agent; (vi) arranging deals in qualifying cryptoassets; and (vii) arranging qualifying cryptoasset staking.

Crypto firms, stablecoin issuers, and traditional finance participants that serve UK consumers must use the proposed guidance to assess whether their activities fall within the new perimeter and whether they must apply for FCA authorisation, which opens from September 2026. Overseas firms serving UK consumers are expressly included in the FCA's scope. Firms that already hold Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 licences may need licence variations to add cryptoasset authorisations.

Responses to CP26/13 are due by 3 June 2026. The FCA stated it will consider responses alongside those received in its broader crypto roadmap consultations — including CP25/14 (stablecoin custody), CP25/15 and CP25/42 (prudential rules), CP25/40 (regulated activities), and CP25/41 (admissions and market abuse). Final policy statements are expected in summer 2026, with final perimeter guidance to follow in autumn 2026. Open questions remain about how the FCA will treat hybrid products combining cryptoassets with traditional specified investments.

Our firm advises on FCA authorisation applications, regulatory perimeter analysis, and cryptoasset compliance strategy; we maintain a dedicated partnership network of UK-regulated crypto specialists and invite inquiries from affected businesses. Work types we handle include: crypto licence applications, PERG analysis, stablecoin issuer compliance, cryptoasset custody authorisation, FCA regulatory perimeter opinions, and crypto trading platform structuring.

Source: Financial Conduct Authority, CP26/13: Cryptoasset perimeter guidance (Consultation Paper), https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp26-13-cryptoasset-perimeter-guidance, confirmed 21 April 2026.

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