UK FCA Opens Crypto Authorization Window, Sets Feb 2027 Deadline

The detail that matters most is the refusal to grandfather existing money laundering registrations: firms that have operated under the UK's lighter AML regime now face a full authorization process, which raises the compliance bar and could thin the field of smaller operators. It also signals the FCA intends the new regime to be a genuine supervisory gate rather than a paper conversion. Whether firms treat the window as ample runway or as a reason to reconsider UK operations is the open question, and how many actually file will be the clearest read on the regime's appeal.