Clock's ticking: UK's crypto regulatory application window opens with February deadline — SkimNews
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- Financial Conduct Authority opened its 'authorization gateway' on Wednesday, giving crypto firms until the end of February 2027 — a five-month window — to apply for licensing under the UK’s new digital asset regime.
- The UK regulatory framework is planned to take effect in October 2027, following legislative work dating back to 2022 and years after the EU’s MiCA Regulation came into force in June 2023.
- More than 60 companies already registered under the FCA’s existing anti-money-laundering regime may have a head start meeting the new licensing requirements, the source notes.
- Zumo, an Edinburgh-based crypto infrastructure platform registered with the FCA since 2021, is building a 'UK Cryptoasset Regulation Tracker' that maps each regulatory obligation to the activity it governs.
- Nick Jones, Zumo’s founder and CEO, framed the tracker as industry-built rather than law-firm-built: 'Everyone else publishing a tracker is a law firm or consultancy. We're developing ours as industry operators.'
Why it matters: The February 2027 deadline forces crypto firms to act within five months or face exclusion from the UK market once the regime takes effect in October 2027, while the 60+ firms already on the FCA's books gain a structural first-mover advantage over late entrants scrambling to meet the same licensing bar.
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