FCA Issues Crypto Authorization Guidance Ahead of UK Licensing Window

The extraterritorial reach is the real story: offshore firms that assumed they could keep serving UK retail from outside the perimeter are being told the authorization requirement follows the customer, not the incorporation. That raises the compliance cost of the UK market for international platforms and could reshape which venues remain accessible to UK users. With the regime not live until 2027, the open question is how many overseas firms treat the window as a reason to restructure UK-facing operations rather than exit.