UK FCA Opens Crypto Business Applications for Banks Ahead of New Regime

The practical significance here is less about a new rulebook than about sequencing: the FCA is opening the application gate early and offering a continuity pathway, which lowers the risk of a cliff-edge for incumbents already touching crypto. That matters most for banks weighing whether to build crypto desks or custody in the UK, since regulatory uncertainty has been a bigger deterrent than the rules themselves. The open question is uptake — whether institutions actually file ahead of the deadline, and how the FCA handles firms that miss it.