What the UK’s FCA is focused on while drawing up its crypto regime   

The FCA’s director of payments and digital assets shared some takeaways from chats with crypto companies and law firms

article-image

Jarretera/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


New research by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) shows 93% of UK adults have heard of crypto assets. About 12% of those surveyed own them — representing about 7 million people.

These findings point to “the need for clear regulation that supports a safe, competitive and sustainable crypto sector,” said Matthew Long, the FCA’s director of payments and digital assets.

Sounds like a good time for an update on the FCA’s approach. 

We received just that on Tuesday, as Long detailed some of the takeaways from the UK regulator’s chats this year with crypto companies, law firms, government officials and other regulators in the country. Even the US SEC gave its two cents.

A few interesting bits from Long’s report:

  • Participants liked the idea of an industry-led disclosures regime proportionate and tailored to different business models (i.e. institutional and retail).
  • While some want disclosure rules similar to those in TradFi, others raised concerns about applying this approach to crypto.
  • There were discussions around “best execution” criteria for client orders (beyond price, important factors include custody arrangements and asset safety).
  • Participants believe exchanges issuing their own tokens or operating brokerage and market-making services pose conflict-of-interest risk.   

An FCA roadmap shows a go-live date for the regime sometime in 2026, with some other steps along the way. 

In the meantime, the FCA said it’s working on a market-abuse information sharing platform (to address stated challenges posed by data privacy laws across jurisdictions, for example).

These details came after UK Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq said last week to expect legislation on stablecoins and staking services soon.   

So there will be plenty more to monitor in the UK as it seeks to catch up to the EU. And the US too is expected to make regulatory moves next year under a more crypto-friendly president and Congress.

Stay tuned.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

🚀 Build What’s Next — Permissionless IV Hackathon Join us June 22–23 in Brooklyn for the Permissionless IV Hackathon — a 36-hour sprint hosted by Cracked Labs and Blockworks where top builders turn ideas into real products. Come to launch, not just […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (10).png

Research

Kamino has evolved into a full-stack asset scaling suite with V2: unlocking new markets, improving capital efficiency, and catering to various risk profiles. We believe it is best positioned to become the credit backbone of Solana as the ecosystem matures. Simply put, KMNO remains our highest-conviction bet in the Solana ecosystem. This report lays out our thesis.

article-image

Greenwood was a success story before it was a tragedy

article-image

All eight included staking in their most recent SEC filings

article-image

With an updated Summary of Economic Projections, the Fed sees growth slowing and inflation increasing

article-image

Where do crypto mobile games go from here?

article-image

Bybit’s Byreal, Binance Alpha and Coinbase’s DEX integrations

article-image

This isn’t the worst hack to ever hit Mt. Gox, but it could be the most entertaining