Britain's Financial Conduct Authority recorded two applications to vary existing permissions and no applications for new authorisation in its first crypto gateway figures. The data section was added on November 2 and amended on November 3. Application totals cover September 30 to October 31, 2026.
No applications had been determined. The FCA separately reported 92 requests for pre-application meetings, 54 meetings held and 18 requests rejected. October accounted for 14 requests, 12 meetings and three rejected requests.
Those rejections concern meeting requests, not licensing decisions. The FCA can decline meetings where supporting information is insufficient, firms do not answer follow-up questions or the request is solely for legal or compliance advice.
The optional service is free. Requests have been accepted since May 11, with meetings held from July 1. A meeting lets firms explain their business model but does not guarantee authorisation.
Existing permissions need a separate application
The two application categories reflect different regulatory routes. Under the FCA's preparation guidance, firms already authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act, or FSMA, apply to vary their permissions. Businesses without that authorisation need a new application to undertake the regulated crypto activities.
The application period runs until February 28, 2027, ahead of the regime's October 25, 2027 start. Dalimss News previously reported on the opening of the UK crypto authorisation window. Firms' proposed permissions need to match the services they intend to offer and the risks they carry.
The regulator expects applicants to identify gaps in their existing arrangements and prepare a board-approved implementation plan, with named responsibilities and completion dates. Preparation also includes assessing the money and staffing needed for authorisation and continuing compliance, rather than treating submission as the end of the process.
For currently registered businesses, the wider assessment includes customer treatment, market conduct and senior leadership. The FCA will use data requests and direct engagement to understand registered firms' preparations. Dalimss News has also covered the FCA's financial-crime and DeFi consultations.
Money-laundering registration remains separate
The FCA's separate registration guidance says firms providing in-scope UK crypto services must still satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations, or MLRs, before starting to trade. That requirement continues until the new regime begins; registration does not guarantee future FSMA authorisation.
A firm with an undecided registration application can therefore face two assessments. The FCA will determine the registration and authorisation applications separately, even when it considers them at the same time. A registration form cannot simply be treated as an application for the wider permission.
Where a business makes a case for seeking registration after September 30, it can ask the FCA to use information from its FSMA application for the registration assessment. In that situation, one application fee applies, set at the higher of the registration and authorisation fees.
The regulator also warns that registration applications submitted after July 31, 2027 are unlikely to be decided before the new regime starts. Its deadline for deciding registration applications is three months from receiving the application or any further information required.
Timing affects the right to continue business
The FCA's transitional guidance distinguishes firms with timely applications still awaiting a final decision from businesses preparing to leave the market. Eligible firms that applied during the window can use the saving provision while their application remains undecided or a refusal remains open to review.
For an existing business that applies after the window but before commencement, an unresolved application at the start of the regime instead leads into the transitional provision. This permits only the regulated activities needed to perform contracts already in place when the firm enters that arrangement.
The transitional route bars new contracts with both existing and new UK customers. It allows eligible firms up to two years to wind down. Firms must notify counterparties that they are using it and disclose material changes affecting asset protection, dispute resolution or compensation arrangements.
A business that never applies before commencement cannot use that route. The same applies where the FCA rejects an application for missing minimum information and the firm does not subsequently submit a valid one. Those businesses must complete their UK wind-down before the regime begins.
