Overview

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 will come into force on 25 October 2027.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 was officially published and laid before Parliament on 15 September 2026. It is an amending instrument which clearly demonstrates the extent to which HM Treasury intends for stablecoin payments to eventually live within a reformed payments regime, and not the cryptoasset regime. 

However, the payment reform process is running on a slower clock than the cryptoasset regime, and so in swoops the Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations to avoid cross-contamination until the payment reform arrives. The Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations are therefore a stop gap, not a rewrite: they provide a set of targeted exclusions designed to stop firms from needing two overlapping sets of permissions for the same activity, whilst payment reform catches up. 

The edits worth knowing about: 

1. UK qualifying stablecoin 

The exclusions centre on a new concept: the "UK qualifying stablecoin" (UKQS) which, broadly, is a qualifying stablecoin issued by a firm holding the right permission to issue it. 

Transfers of a UKQS, and swapping it for another asset, generally drop out of the dealing and arranging activities. Receiving a UKQS as collateral, or under a buy-back arrangement, is excluded too, unless the other side is a consumer. On safeguarding, temporarily holding a UKQS to execute a payment is excluded, as is an issuer's own arrangements over the assets backing its stablecoins.

2. Dealing as principal is narrower carving out prop trading and market making

Dealing as principal is excluded where it isn't done to provide a service to someone else, or where it's market making on a UK trading platform. 

3. Technical Service Providers

Following much consternation in relation to previous Perimeter Guidance issued by the FCA, this statutory instrument introduces a new "technical services" exclusion from arranging, which will apply to a person who just supplies the tech that enables access a third party's regulated service, or a decentralised protocol, without being authorised themselves.This provides much needed clarity for pure tech service providers and it is anticipated the updated position on pure tech will be reflected in FCA PERG expected next year. 

4. Financial promotions get matching carve-outs

Issuing a UKQS will be a controlled activity and the stablecoin itself will be a controlled investment; but, there will also be new exemptions covering transfers, exchanges, and collateral arrangements involving a UKQS. 

Overseas communicator exemptions are extended to cryptoasset activities too, and communications required by the market abuse regime, platform rules, or the FCA are exempted from the promotion restriction entirely.

Next steps 

PERG was finalised in September 2026, but it doesn’t reflect these amendments. A further PERG consultation is coming (with final guidance expected in early 2027), which will incorporate the Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations. 

The Cryptoasset authorisation gateway is now live. It opened on 30 September 2026 and closes on 28 February 2027. Firms that apply for the relevant Part 4A permissions within this window benefit from savings provisions, allowing them to keep carrying on what will become regulated activities while their application is assessed. Firms that have not secured the relevant FCA permissions by 25 October 2027, however, will need to stop any in-scope activity until they do. Get in touch now to find out how we can help.