- An exchange or custodian serving UK customers must be registered with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations. Registration is not an endorsement, and only a small share of applicants got it.
- Fees for a simple purchase range from about 1% to 1.49% at the providers we could check, and the spread often comes on top.
- The FCA says no entity in the Binance group may carry on regulated activity in the UK, and MEXC is on its Warning List.
- Crypto at an exchange is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and today the Financial Ombudsman Service generally cannot help with crypto complaints. From 25 October 2027 the Ombudsman will cover the new regulated crypto activities.
This page compares crypto exchanges that serve UK residents and explains how to check one. The rules behind it are on regulation. We do not rank or recommend any exchange, and there are no affiliate links. Fees change often: the figures below are what each exchange published on its own pages on 7 October 2026.
Who may serve you
Until the new regime starts on 25 October 2027, exchange providers and custodian wallet providers must register with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations before they start. The FCA says registration “is a legal requirement to carry on business. It is not a recommendation or endorsement”. It is a registration under the money laundering rules, not a full authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act. Between January 2020 and 1 September 2026 the FCA determined 391 applications: 68 ended in registration (17%), and the rest were rejected, refused or withdrawn. Registered firms that want to keep serving UK customers after that date must apply for authorization under the new regime by 28 February 2027; registrations are not converted automatically.
How we checked registration. The FCA’s Financial Services Register only works in a browser with JavaScript, and we could not read it automatically on 7 October 2026. The table below shows the legal entity and firm reference number (FRN) as each firm states them on its own UK pages, as required under the money laundering rules. Before you open an account, look up the FRN on the FCA register yourself.
| Exchange | UK legal entity (as stated by the firm) | FRN | What the firm says it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoinJar | CoinJar UK Limited | 928767 | Registered cryptoasset exchange provider and custodian wallet provider |
| Crypto.com | Foris DAX UK Limited | 941745 | Crypto-asset business registration in the UK |
| Gemini | Gemini Intergalactic UK, Ltd; Gemini Payments UK, Ltd (e-money) | 921817; 900988 | FCA-registered cryptoasset firm; e-money institution |
| Kraken | Payward Ltd | 928768 | Registered cryptoasset firm under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 |
| Zumo | Zumo Financial Services Limited | 901033 | Registered under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 |
| Coinbase | Not found (site not readable from our location) | Not found | Not found |
| eToro | Not confirmed which eToro entity holds the crypto registration | Not found | eToro (UK) Ltd is FCA-authorized for investments (FRN 583263) |
| Revolut | Revolut Ltd (named on its UK crypto fee document) | Not found on its own pages | Not found |
We could not read the UK pages of Bitstamp, Uphold, Bitpanda, Bitvavo, OKX or Bybit from our location, so we cannot say whether, or through which entity, they serve UK consumers. Check the FCA register before you use them.
Not allowed or warned about
- Binance. In June 2021 the FCA said Binance Markets Limited was “not permitted to undertake any regulated activity in the UK” and that “No other entity in the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorisation, registration or licence to conduct regulated activity in the UK.” Binance Markets Limited’s permissions were cancelled on 30 May 2023.
- MEXC is on the FCA Warning List (since March 2024): “This firm is not authorised by us and may be targeting people in the UK.”
Fees compared
The table shows what each exchange’s own pages said on 7 October 2026, for a new retail customer at the lowest fee level. “Simple buy” is the buy button in the app; “advanced” is the order book (maker / taker). A spread is the difference between the buying and selling price and is an extra cost on top of the fee. “Not found” means we could not find or read the figure on the exchange’s own pages.
| Exchange | Simple buy | Advanced (maker / taker) | Pounds in (bank transfer) | Pounds out | Bitcoin to your own wallet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinJar | 1%; card 2% | 0.10% / 0.10% (pound pairs) | Free (Faster Payments) | Free (Faster Payments) | Yes, variable fee |
| eToro | 1% to buy; 0.6–1% to sell to money | – | Free | Free from a pound account | Via eToro Money, 2% |
| Gemini | Not found | 0.60% / 1.20% (ActiveTrader) | Not found for Faster Payments | Free | Yes, network fee set dynamically |
| Kraken | 1% plus spread (1.5% for custom orders) | 0.40% / 0.80% (Kraken Pro) | Free (Faster Payments) | Not found | Yes, 0.000015 BTC; Lightning 0.1% |
| Revolut (app, Standard plan) | 1.49%, minimum £0.99–£2.99 on orders under £200; spread included in the price | 0% / 0.09% (Revolut X) | Free | Not found | Yes, £3 service fee plus network fee |
| Coinbase | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Crypto.com | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Zumo | Not found | – | Not found | Not found | Not found |
A few things the table does not show:
- Revolut also charges a fair usage fee above a monthly exchange limit on the Standard (1% above £1,000) and Plus (0.5% above £3,000) plans, and lower crypto fees on paid plans. It may keep 0% to 50% of staking rewards as commission.
- Kraken charges £0.25 plus 3.75% for a debit card deposit, and Gemini 3.49% for a debit card purchase.
- CoinJar says new UK customers wait a 24-hour cooling-off period before their account is active, and must first complete an assessment of their understanding of the risks. These are FCA promotion rules, so expect the same at other providers.
Features compared
| Exchange | Number of coins (its own claim) | Staking | Recurring buy | Bitcoin Lightning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinJar | 60+ | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| eToro | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Gemini | Not found | Not found | Not found | Not found |
| Kraken | 600+ trading pairs | Not confirmed for UK customers | Yes | Yes |
| Revolut | Not found | Yes (commission 0–50%) | Yes | Not found |
Staking is not yet a regulated activity in the UK; it becomes one under the new regime from 25 October 2027 (see regulation). Staking rewards are taxable income (see personal tax).
How to check a provider
- Look the firm up on the FCA Financial Services Register by name or FRN. Check that the legal entity you sign up with is the one on the register.
- Check the FCA Warning List for the firm’s name and website.
- Look for the FCA risk warning. Firms that promote crypto to UK consumers must show: “Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.” A site that skips it, or offers bonuses to sign up or refer friends, is a red flag.
- Read the fee page before you deposit. Look at the spread as well as the fee, and at the cost of withdrawing coins.
FCA enforcement
The FCA has acted against unregistered crypto business: besides its Binance notice of 2021, it secured the first prison sentence for unregistered crypto activity in February 2025, against the operator of an illegal crypto ATM network (see regulation). Promoting crypto to UK consumers outside the permitted routes is a criminal offense that can carry up to 2 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
If an exchange fails
There is no compensation scheme for crypto. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme says: “The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate most cryptoassets, so FSCS cannot protect you if a platform that exchanges or holds them goes out of business.” Under the money laundering rules, registered firms must tell you this. The FCA does not plan to extend compensation cover to crypto under the new regime either, and crypto promotions will have to say so.
The new regime adds custody rules for crypto held for customers (in the FCA’s client assets rules) and a prudential regime for crypto firms, from 25 October 2027. Until then, how your coins are protected in an insolvency depends on the exchange’s own terms. Coins in your own wallet do not depend on an exchange at all; the rules for that are on regulation. If you move a larger amount of bitcoin into self-custody, this comparison of a single hardware wallet and a multisig setup explains the options.
Where to complain
- The exchange first. Use its own complaints procedure.
- Financial Ombudsman Service, today. The Ombudsman only handles complaints about regulated or otherwise covered activities. The FCA says that for registered crypto businesses “it is unlikely that customers will have access to the Financial Ombudsman”. It can look at related services that are regulated, such as an e-money account at the same group, and at complaints about banks that refuse to reimburse victims of crypto fraud.
- Financial Ombudsman Service, from 25 October 2027. The FCA is extending the Ombudsman’s compulsory jurisdiction to the new regulated crypto activities, so complaints about authorized crypto firms can then go there.
- Fraud. Report it to Report Fraud and tell the FCA; see regulation.
- Court. You can always start legal proceedings.
Sources
- FCA: Financial Services Register (last checked October 2026; not readable automatically)
- FCA: Cryptoassets, AML/CTF regime (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: Cryptoasset firms, who needs to register (application statistics) (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: How the cryptoasset application gateway will operate (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: Consumer warning on Binance Markets Limited and the Binance Group (last checked October 2026)
- FCA Warning List: MEXC Global Ltd (last checked October 2026)
- FCA Handbook: COBS 4.12A (promotions of cryptoassets) (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: Marketing cryptoassets to UK consumers (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: Sentence for illegally operating a crypto ATM network (press release, February 2025) (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: Cryptoasset regime, policy statements (last checked October 2026)
- FCA: PS26/13 Application of the FCA Handbook to cryptoasset firms (last checked October 2026)
- FSCS: Cryptocurrencies, risk and cover (last checked October 2026)
- Financial Ombudsman Service: Our jurisdiction to consider complaints (last checked October 2026)
- Financial Ombudsman Service: Rise in fraud and scam complaints (last checked October 2026)
Exchange pages (not official sources)
Fees, features and the registration details in the first table come from each exchange’s own pages, checked on 7 October 2026. They are the exchange’s own statements, not checked by a regulator.
- CoinJar: UK fees (last checked October 2026)
- CoinJar: UK home page (last checked October 2026)
- Crypto.com: Licenses and registrations (last checked October 2026)
- eToro: Fees (last checked October 2026)
- Gemini: UK home page (legal notice) (last checked October 2026)
- Gemini: ActiveTrader fee schedule (last checked October 2026)
- Gemini: Transfer fee schedule (last checked October 2026)
- Kraken: UK home page (legal notice) (last checked October 2026)
- Kraken: Fee schedule (last checked October 2026)
- Kraken: GBP deposit options and fees (last checked October 2026)
- Kraken: Cryptocurrency withdrawal fees and minimums (last checked October 2026)
- Revolut Ltd: Retail crypto fees (last checked October 2026)
- Zumo: Home page (legal notice) (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not financial advice. Fees and registrations change, so check the FCA register and the exchange’s own fee page before you open an account.