If you want to keep serving UK customers after 25 October 2027, you apply between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027. Miss that window and you run the UK book off. An existing MLR registration will not convert.
That is the whole story. The rest is price, capital, and whether the UK is even the market you think it is.
What you have today is not a licence
The United Kingdom still runs a registration regime. Cryptoasset firms register with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. That is AML supervision, not FSMA authorisation.
SI 2026/102, made on 4 February 2026, brings cryptoassets inside the FSMA perimeter. The FCA published final rules on 30 June 2026 (PS26/10 stablecoins, PS26/11 regulated activities, PS26/12 prudential) and the application-form walkthrough on 8 July. The online form opens with the gateway.
The numbers that change the decision
Permanent minimum capital under PS26/12, by activity:
| Activity | Permanent minimum | | --- | --- | | Arranging / dealing as agent | £75,000 | | Custody, trading platform, staking | £150,000 | | Stablecoin issuance | £350,000 | | Dealing as principal | £750,000 |
Today there is no minimum initial capital under MLR registration. That is the gap most boards have not priced.
The FCA application fee is £11,260 (Category 6, fee-block G23, non-refundable). Professional fees typically run £50,000 to £150,000. A representative all-in figure is about £90,000. The statutory clock on an MLR file is three months from a complete application. In practice, including pre-application, firms report nine to twelve months, against a historically low approval rate.
The regime is standalone. No EU or EEA passport. No MiCA equivalence in either direction. A UK authorisation is a UK authorisation.
Substance still means the business is genuinely carried on in the UK, with a UK-based, competent, independent MLRO. The 2023 financial promotions rules stay in force: risk warnings, a 24-hour cooling-off for first-time investors, no incentives. Banking access remains a material friction.
LicenceMap rates the UK among the more demanding regimes it tracks. The incoming FSMA framework raises that bar further.
What to do before 30 September
- Map your activities to the new perimeter. Custody, arranging, dealing, staking and stablecoin issuance are not the same application.
- Price the permanent minimum for that map, plus the realistic professional-fee range, before you book counsel.
- Request a pre-application meeting through the FCA PASS service if you have not already. Meetings have been running since July.
- Decide whether the UK is the market, or whether a MiCA CASP with an EU passport is the shorter path to the customers you actually have.
The United Kingdom page is free in full. Same depth as every gated cell: capital, timeline, cost, substance, passporting, restrictions, each with a source and a verification date.
When you need the rest of the atlas beside it, compare jurisdictions or take 30-day Decision Access at £349, one invoice, nothing to cancel. The H1 2026 State of Crypto Licensing report is free to read.
Not legal advice. Verify with the FCA and qualified counsel before you act.
Figures taken from the LicenceMap United Kingdom page, last verified 1 August 2026, and the FCA sources below.
Sources
- FCA, New regime for cryptoasset regulation
- FCA, How the gateway will operate
- FCA, What you need to do
- FCA, Information about the authorisation application form, 8 July 2026
- FCA PS26/12, Prudential regime for cryptoasset firms
- FCA press release, 30 June 2026
- FCA authorisation and registration application fees
- LicenceMap, United Kingdom