How to re-enter the UK crypto market in 2026

The next stage of UK crypto growth will be driven by firms prepared to operate within a regulated financial system and build their business accordingly.

In October 2023, the UK’s Financial Promotions (FinProms) regime for crypto assets came into force, bringing consumer crypto marketing under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority. In a trice, crypto companies were forced to tear up their marketing playbook and rethink their strategy.

The rules require the promotion of crypto assets to UK consumers to be fair and clear, regardless of whether the firm is based in the UK or overseas. They also introduce a very specific customer onboarding journey that must be followed with regards to components such as consumer risk warnings, customer categorisation and appropriateness assessments.

While the rationale behind the introduction of finproms rules was understandable, it forced firms to walk a tightrope in the knowledge that a single misstep could cause them to fall afoul of FinProms regulation.

Rather than take their chances, many crypto businesses simply elected to walk back their UK operations altogether, focusing on regions that were more forgiving in the terminology and types of campaigns that could be used to onboard crypto consumers.

Exchanges restricted services and marketing efforts were wound down as the financial promotions framework transformed the UK from a relatively accessible crypto jurisdiction into one of the world’s most tightly supervised consumer markets.

In the years since, the rules of the game haven’t changed, but as its players have had a chance to acclimatise to them, learning what they can and can’t say in a bid to drum up business, they’ve regained confidence. Now, a number are returning to the UK for a fresh assault, equipped with an operations manual that allows them to lawfully market crypto products.

And who can blame them? The UK remains one of Europe’s largest financial centres on account of its deep pools of institutional capital and enthusiastic retail market. With a clearly defined regulatory pathway now having ossified, there’s an opportunity for firms that withdrew after the FinProms shock to re-enter without repeating the mistakes that caused problems in the first place.

Here’s how they’re going about it.

Why firms left the UK market

The introduction of the financial promotions regime in October 2023 created immediate operational challenges for many crypto businesses. For the majority of these that bowed out or dramatically scaled back operations, the biggest obstacle was obtaining a lawful route to communicate promotions.

Businesses that weren’t FCA registered often struggled to find suitable UK authorised approvers following the introduction of the FCA’s financial promotion gateway requirements.

Others discovered that marketing strategies built around referral incentives or aggressive social media campaigns no longer fit within UK expectations. As compliance costs rose, some firms simply stopped serving British customers altogether.

To the chagrin of UK crypto users, services they’d grown accustomed to accessing daily – exchanges, wallets and even education hubs – became geo-restricted, effectively locking them out from the global crypto market.

But the regulatory environment has matured considerably since then, and while the UK still maintains strict rules, it’s not closed for crypto business. It’s just that this time around, that business has to be pitched in the right way.

Why firms are returning

The UK’s crypto supervisory regime began with a narrow focus on anti-money laundering and financial promotions oversight, but it’s since evolved into a full regulatory framework for crypto activities effective from next year.

Consumer demand for digital assets is already deep-seated within the United Kingdom. Around one in eight UK adults now holds crypto assets, with ownership concentrated among digitally engaged and mass-affluent customers.

The current market downturn that’s characterised H1 2026 provides a low-pressure window to build crypto capability ahead of the next bull cycle across retail and high-net-worth customers. The commercial upside is well documented: Revolut’s crypto business grew revenues by 298% year-on-year in 2024, demonstrating the scale of opportunity when customer demand returns.

Current proposals will require crypto businesses to obtain formal FCA authorisation before carrying out any of a defined list of regulated crypto activities in the UK. Applications for authorisation open in September 2026 with the regulatory framework encompassing exchanges, custody providers, lending activities, trading platforms, and many other popular crypto services.

While stricter regulation may appear burdensome, it also creates something many firms have been requesting for years in the form of regulatory certainty.

The UK remains a tough nut to crack, especially for firms accustomed to the more relaxed regulatory regimes in place elsewhere. But the upside to entering the British market means it remains an attractive proposition for ambitious crypto companies.

The market may be harder to enter than in years gone by but it’s potentially more lucrative for firms capable of meeting the standards. Particularly since in successfully doing so, they will join an elite group of firms approved to offer services to the UK’s crypto-hungry consumers.

If your business is considering entry – or re-entry – into the UK market, here’s how to go about it.

Step one: Choose your route into the UK market

For firms considering a return to the UK, the first decision concerns market-entry strategy. Broadly speaking, there are now two paths available.

The first is the “do it yourself” approach. This entails establishing your own UK compliance capability and preparing for FCA authorisation while also taking care of governance frameworks and creating the operational infrastructure required to support UK customers directly. While this is arguably the optimum long-term strategy, it’s also the most resource-intensive option.

Before committing to this path, you’ll need to conduct a thorough assessment of how your existing operations interact with UK regulations. That includes reviewing such matters as customer acquisition channels, marketing activities, onboarding journeys, affiliate programmes, and product availability for UK users.

The second route, increasingly popular among firms looking to re-enter the market cautiously, is to partner with an established UK provider that can support or manage key operational and compliance functions.

This approach allows firms to test customer demand and establish a market presence without immediately building a fully authorised UK operation from scratch. Depending on the structure, a local partner may be able to assist in areas such as onboarding, compliance oversight, custody, trading infrastructure, fiat connectivity, or a combination thereof.

For businesses uncertain about the scale of the UK opportunity, this can provide a lower-risk route to market while retaining the option of pursuing full authorisation later if customer demand justifies the investment.

Step two: Build operational readiness, not just marketing compliance

A common mistake during the first phase of the FinProms rollout was treating compliance as a marketing problem rather than an operational one. In reality, it’s about much more than marketing, which is merely the customer-facing side of operations.

The FCA increasingly expects firms to demonstrate robust governance and documented risk management processes alongside effective monitoring systems and clear accountability structures. Whether your business chooses to enter independently or through a local partner, operational readiness is critical.

If your business is pursuing direct authorisation, you’ll need to establish transaction monitoring capabilities and internal reporting structures alongside marketing approval controls from the outset.

Should you adopt a partnership model, meanwhile, you should conduct the same level of diligence on your chosen provider, who must understand how customer onboarding and ongoing compliance obligations are being managed, and where accountability ultimately lies.

The firms most likely to succeed in the next phase of UK regulation will be those that treat compliance as essential infrastructure rather than a legal box-ticking exercise.

Step three: Decide whether full FCA authorisation is the destination

It’s not uncommon for crypto firms to view FCA registration or authorisation as the first objective to tackle. In practice, it may be more useful to think of authorisation as a strategic decision rather than a mandatory starting point.

The UK will eventually require authorisation for a much broader range of crypto activities, it should be noted, creating a higher regulatory threshold. Preparing your business for authorisation requires investment in governance and operational procedures coupled with robust reporting capabilities and regulatory expertise.

Many firms re-entering the market today are taking a phased approach: entering through partnerships and learning from real customer demand before deciding whether pursuing their own FCA authorisation makes commercial sense.

Second time’s the charm

The initial FinProms shock forced many businesses to step back and reassess their UK strategy. But with the path toward crypto UK licensing now becoming more defined, businesses willing to invest in compliance infrastructure will find themselves better positioned as weaker or less prepared competitors fall away.