Crypto Country GuideCrypto rules and tax, country by country

United Kingdom: regulation

Last reviewed: October 2026

On this page
  1. Legal status and supervision
    1. The current regime
    2. Crypto adverts
    3. The new regime from October 2027
  2. Exchanges and KYC
  3. Stablecoins
  4. Crypto ATMs
  5. Scams and fraud
  6. Self-custody
    1. If you lose access to your wallet
  7. Sources
  • Owning and using crypto is legal. Crypto businesses must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the money laundering rules today, and need full FCA authorization from 25 October 2027.
  • Crypto adverts must carry a risk warning, first-time investors get a 24-hour cooling-off period, and refer-a-friend bonuses are banned.
  • No firm is approved to run crypto ATMs in the UK, so the FCA says any crypto ATM here operates illegally.
  • Report crypto fraud to Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025) on 0300 123 2040. The FCA cannot get your money back.
  • You may hold crypto in your own wallet. For transfers of £800 or more to or from it, a UK crypto business may ask for details about the sender and recipient.

This page covers who supervises crypto in the UK, what that means when you use an exchange, and the rules for your own wallet. Which exchanges are registered, and their fees, are on exchanges. It is general information, not legal advice.

HMRC’s Cryptoassets Manual says that owning and using cryptoassets is not illegal in the UK, and that HMRC does not consider them to be currency or money. Since December 2025, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 confirms in England and Wales and Northern Ireland that a digital thing can be personal property even though it is neither a physical object nor a legal claim against someone. The Act does not extend to Scotland.

The current regime

Crypto businesses are not yet authorized like other financial firms. Instead, exchange providers (crypto to money, crypto to crypto, and crypto ATM operators) and custodian wallet providers must register with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations before they start. The FCA says that registration “is a legal requirement to carry on business. It is not a recommendation or endorsement”. It also says that being registered does not mean customers get the protection of the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Crypto adverts

Since 8 October 2023 crypto marketing to UK consumers falls under the financial promotions rules. Firms must give clear risk warnings, check that you have the knowledge and experience to invest, and give first-time investors a 24-hour cooling-off period. Refer-a-friend bonuses are banned. A typical warning reads: “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.” Promoting crypto outside the permitted routes is a criminal offense.

Since 8 October 2025 retail investors may also buy crypto exchange traded notes (ETNs), but only on a UK Recognised Investment Exchange, and without protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The ban on selling crypto derivatives to retail investors remains.

The new regime from October 2027

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/102), made on 4 February 2026, bring crypto into full FCA authorization. They “come into force on 25th October 2027”. The new regulated activities include:

  • operating a crypto trading platform
  • dealing in crypto as principal or as agent, and arranging deals
  • safeguarding crypto for customers (custody)
  • crypto staking
  • issuing a qualifying stablecoin in the UK

The regulations also add rules for public offers and admissions of crypto to trading, including withdrawal rights, and a market abuse regime covering insider dealing and market manipulation. The FCA published its final rules on 30 June 2026 (policy statements PS26/9 to PS26/13), with rules for staking (disclosures, contract terms and client consent) and for lending and borrowing (disclosures, appropriateness tests, over-collateralization and negative balance protection). The FCA also says: “Cryptoassets are high risk investments and will remain high risk under our regime.”

The FCA’s application window opened on 30 September 2026 and closes on 28 February 2027. There is no automatic conversion of existing registrations. Firms that do not apply must run off their UK crypto business before the regime starts, over at most two years, and may not take on new contracts with UK customers. Under the new regime, complaints about regulated crypto activities can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but the FCA does not plan to extend compensation scheme cover to crypto; see exchanges.

Exchanges and KYC

Before you use an exchange or custodian, check that it is on the FCA register of cryptoasset businesses, and check the FCA Warning List. Registered firms must verify your identity under the Money Laundering Regulations. Since 1 January 2026 they must also ask for your name, date of birth, address, country of tax residence and tax identification number for CARF reporting to HMRC (see filing and deadlines). A comparison of registered exchanges is on exchanges.

Regulation 64C of the Money Laundering Regulations (the travel rule) has applied since 1 September 2023. When a crypto business sends crypto to another business, the transfer must carry the names of the sender and recipient and their account numbers or unique transaction identifiers. Extra details, such as customer ID numbers, addresses or identity document numbers, are required when both parties are in the UK, or when the transfer is worth £800 or more and not all parties are in the UK. The £800 threshold replaced €1,000 on 30 June 2026 (SI 2026/621).

Stablecoins

Today, stablecoins are treated like other crypto: you may hold and trade them, and firms that exchange or hold them must be registered with the FCA. From 25 October 2027, issuing a qualifying stablecoin in the UK becomes a regulated activity, with FCA rules on issuance and custody (PS26/10). The FCA says it “will regulate the issuance, custody and admission to trading of UK-issued qualifying stablecoins”, and in future also their use in payments; we found no official framework for paying with stablecoins today.

Sterling stablecoins that become widely used for payments (“systemic” stablecoins) will also be supervised by the Bank of England. In its policy statement of 22 June 2026 the Bank dropped the proposed holding limits of £20,000 per person, in favor of a temporary cap on issuance of initially £40 billion per systemic stablecoin, and requires backing of 70% short-term UK government debt and 30% deposits at the Bank. It intends to finalize its Code of Practice by the end of 2026. The planned tax treatment from April 2027 is on personal tax.

Crypto ATMs

Crypto ATM operators fall under the FCA registration. The FCA says: “None of the cryptoasset firms registered with us have been approved to offer crypto ATM services, meaning that any of them operating in the UK are doing so illegally and consumers should not be using them.” In February 2025 a court sentenced an operator of an illegal crypto ATM network to 4 years in prison, the first sentence for unregistered crypto activity in the UK. The FCA says the number of crypto ATMs advertised in the UK fell from more than 80 in 2022 to none in 2024.

Scams and fraud

The FCA warns that fraudsters advertise fake crypto investments on social media with celebrity images, reach people through search engines, and build professional-looking websites that show fake prices. It says: “if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” Warning signs:

  • you are contacted out of the blue
  • you are pressured to invest quickly
  • you are promised returns that sound unrealistic
  • the firm is not on the FCA register, or it is on the FCA Warning List
  • after a loss, an offer to get your money back for an upfront fee (a “recovery room” scam)

Where to report:

WhoHowWhat they can do
Report Fraud (City of London Police; replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025)reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040Takes fraud reports for the police
Police Scotland (if you live in Scotland)101Takes the report instead of Report Fraud
FCAOnline form or consumer helpline 0800 111 6768Looks into every report, which “could help protect others”. But: “We can’t help you get your money back”
Your bankStraight away, if you paid by bank transfer or cardDecides whether to reimburse you; if it refuses, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service says that although crypto is unregulated, it “can look into complaints about the banking providers who refuse to reimburse consumers” who were victims of a crypto fraud or scam. The FCA adds that fraud reports are shared only with law enforcement, never with a private recovery business.

Self-custody

No UK rule stops you from holding crypto in your own wallet, and tokens in your own wallet are taxed the same way as tokens on an exchange. But when you send crypto from your own wallet to a UK crypto business, or withdraw to your own wallet, regulation 64G of the Money Laundering Regulations lets the business ask for the names and account details of the sender and recipient, and further details about the sender for transfers of £800 or more. It decides whether to ask based on its own risk assessment. If it asks and does not get the information, it must not make the crypto available to the recipient.

Holding crypto yourself means the keys are your responsibility. If you keep larger amounts of bitcoin in your own wallet, it is worth comparing a single hardware wallet with a multisig setup; this explanation of multisig versus single-sig sets out what each protects against.

If you lose access to your wallet

According to HMRC’s Cryptoassets Manual, misplacing a private key does not count as a disposal for Capital Gains Tax. If it can be shown that there is no prospect of recovering the key or accessing the tokens, you can make a negligible value claim. You are then treated as having disposed of and immediately reacquired the tokens, which crystallizes a loss. Companies get the same treatment. We found no FCA guidance on lost access to self-custody wallets.

What heirs need to do to reach crypto in a wallet or on an exchange is covered in this guide to crypto inheritance in the United Kingdom. For other online accounts, this overview of the UK rules on online accounts after death explains what executors can and cannot do.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the official sources above before you act.