The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released a new regulatory timetable. According to the latest plan, the FCA will officially open the application window for crypto asset licenses in September 2026.

What does this mean? In simple terms, before the new cryptocurrency regulatory framework takes effect in October 2027, all crypto entities wishing to operate legally in the UK must complete the FSMA (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) authorization process. This is not optional but a mandatory requirement.

More importantly, existing anti-money laundering (AML) registration or payment licenses will not automatically upgrade. In other words, your previous compliance status will become invalid under the new regulations—you must reapply or modify your license. This means current institutions will need to go through the approval process from scratch.

What about institutions that miss the deadline? They won't be outright banned but will enter a transition period. During this period, only existing operations can continue, and new services are prohibited. This "freeze" regulatory approach is essentially a form of business restriction.

This new policy signals that the UK crypto ecosystem is entering a phase of formal regulation—either comply on-site or scale back operations.