The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published three consultation papers as the next step in shaping the UK's crypto rules. These consultations complement the final draft statutory instrument (the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025) published by HM Treasury and laid before the UK Parliament on 15 December. The deadline for responses to all three of the consultation papers is 12 February 2026. Final rules and guidance in policy statements are expected in 2026.

The first consultation is CP25/40 on regulating cryptoasset activities, which sets out the FCA's proposed rules and guidance for some of the new cryptoasset activities introduced through the draft statutory instrument and which were not covered previously in CP25/14 and CP25/15. These activities include: (i) operating a trading platform; (ii) intermediaries; (iii) lending and borrowing; (iv) staking; and (v) the approach for decentralised finance.

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The draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025 were laid before the UK Parliament, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum. The statutory instrument (SI) introduces a comprehensive UK regulatory framework for cryptoassets under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

Specifically, the legislation amends the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO) to:

• Define the categories of cryptoassets that will be regulated under the regime: "qualifying cryptoassets" which includes "qualifying stablecoins" and "specified investment cryptoassets".
• Specify certain activities related to these categories of cryptoassets as regulated activities, so that any persons carrying on those activities by way of business needs to be authorised for that activity by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These new regulated activities include issuing qualifying stablecoin, safeguarding of qualifying cryptoassets and relevant specified investment cryptoassets, operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform, dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as principal or agent, or arranging deals in qualifying cryptoassets, and qualifying cryptoasset staking.

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The Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum has published the ninth edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid. This sets out the regulatory pipeline for the next two years, outlining 124 live initiatives which is a 13% reduction since the last grid was published. Key priorities include implementing Basel 3.1 standards, advancing the strong and simple prudential framework and reforms to the prospectus regime and wholesale markets review. Innovation-focused measures cover stablecoin regulation, the national payments vision, and development of a UK captive insurance regime, while consumer-focused reforms include the advice guidance boundary review and regulation of buy now pay later products. The Grid also highlights efforts to streamline regulatory processes, with 45 joint initiatives across sectors, and provides indicative timelines for consultations and implementation through 2027. Separate press releases announcing the Grid have also been published by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sent a letter to the Prime Minister providing an update on its growth strategy. It confirms delivery of most of the 50 pro-growth measures announced in January and outlines plans for 2026. The plans include finalising rules on stablecoins, setting out the delivery plan for open finance, reforming rules for venture capital and alternative investment fund managers and further speeding up IPO applications. The FCA also cites its plans to further overhaul mortgage rules so more people get on the housing ladder and is preparing for its expanded remit as anti-money laundering supervisor and integration of the UK Payments Systems Regulator. The letter highlights active support for firms digitising, with 31 already testing AI use cases, and commits to enabling tokenisation in asset management to drive efficiency and competition. The FCA also urges swift progress on digital ID to streamline know your customer requirements and calls for faster legislation to maintain reform momentum, including modernising the Consumer Credit Act. Finally, the FCA will use its convening power to galvanise system-wide responses to cross-cutting issues such as financial inclusion and mobilising defence investment to protect national and economic security.

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a statement on the discretionary transitional regime for cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) that offered their services in accordance with applicable law prior to 30 December 2024, contained in the markets in cryptoassets regulation (MiCAR). Member States may decide not to apply the transitional regime or to reduce its duration. Given the national divergence in transitional periods applicable across the EU member states, ESMA expects CASPs not yet authorised under MiCAR to have implemented orderly wind-down plans for the services they provided in member states in which the transitional period is over and orderly wind-down plans in place ready for implementation ahead of the end of the remaining transitional periods in case they should not be authorised by then.

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The European Commission (EC) has published a Communication to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Central Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on further development of capital market integration and supervision within the Union, announcing a set of major legislative reforms. The package seeks to address obstacles to innovation and barriers to integration resulting from divergent rules, duplicative requirements and inconsistent supervision. The EC proposes a suite of amendments to key EU financial services and capital markets legislation in a package described as a central component of the savings and investments union (SIU), specifically a:

• Regulation which will amend: (i) the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Regulation; (ii) the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR); (iii) the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MIFIR); (iv) the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR); (v) the Distributed Ledger technology Pilot Regulation (DLTPR); (vi) the Markets in cryptoasset Regulation (MiCAR); and (vi) the Cross-Border Distribution of Funds Regulation (CBDR). It also includes targeted amendments, in line with the changes proposed to the ESMA regulation aimed at making EU supervision more efficient, to: (a) the Central Counterparties Recovery and Resolution Regulation (CCPRRR); (b) the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR); (c) the Credit Ratings Agency Regulation (CRAR); (d) the Benchmark Regulation (BMR); (e) the simple, transparent and standardised (STS) securitisation Regulation; (f) the European Green Bond Regulation (EuGB Regulation); (g) the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating Regulation.

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The UK's Treasury has published a policy update on creating a provisional licences authorisation regime for early-stage financial services firms seeking FCA authorisation. The purpose is to reduce the barriers that financial services firms face when seeking authorisation. The proposed "provisional licences" regime will enable the FCA to grant time-limited permissions (generally up to 18 months) so that firms can get "up and running" in a controlled environment with strong regulatory oversight, whilst working towards full authorisation. The policy update sets out details of how the government intends to deliver this. It discusses the purpose and design of the regime including its scope and eligibility, the duration of provisional licences and other restrictions and requirements on firms during the provisional licence period. It concludes with a discussion of exiting the regime, ideally with full authorisation. This provisional licence regime will require. primary legislation, and the updates reports that the government will take this forward when parliamentary time allows. The FCA will engage with industry on the design of the regime and consult as necessary.

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill has received royal assent and entered the statute book as the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025. The Act gives effect to recommendations of the Law Commission confirming in statute that a thing that is digital or electronic in nature can be recognised as personal property even if it does not fall within the traditional categories of 'things in possession' or 'things in action'. This means that certain digital assets such as crypto-tokens or crypto currencies can now be recognised as property providing legal certainty for businesses and individuals. The Act applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a statement to support the smooth implementation of the regulation on markets in cryptoassets (MiCAR) data standards and format requirements. The statement provides technical specifications on:

• The format of order book records for cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) operating a trading platform for cryptoassets, as defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/416.
• Record-keeping obligations for CASPs as defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1140, specifying records to be kept of all cryptoasset services, activities, orders and transactions undertaken.
• Presentation of transparency data by CASPs operating a trading platform for cryptoassets, as defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/417.
• Format and data standards requirements for MiCAR white papers, under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2984.
• Data necessary for the classification of cryptoasset white papers, as defined by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/421 and the practical arrangements to ensure that such data is machine-readable.

This public statement aims to provide further practical guidance to market participants in complying with the above requirements.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new webpage announcing the launch of a special stablecoins cohort within its Regulatory Sandbox for firms issuing stablecoins. This will enable UK firms planning to issue stablecoins to test products under the UK's evolving regulatory regime. The cohort supports innovation in financial services and complements projects such as the Digital Securities Sandbox. For a successful application, firms must demonstrate: (i) clear readiness to begin testing; (ii) hold appropriate permissions and resources; (iii) prepare a well-aligned test plan consistent with the recent FCA stablecoin issuance consultation paper CP25/14; and (iv) include as much detail as possible. Applications close on 18 January 2026. Successful participants will be notified by the FCA, and feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation paper CP25/33 outlining its proposed changes to the fees and levies framework ahead of the 2026/27 fee cycle. The consultation paper is structured as follows:

• Chapter 2 sets out proposed changes to the fees manual of the FCA Handbook (FEES). These cover, among other things, introducing the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) periodic fee, targeted support fees and levies, cryptoasset firms' application fees and deferred payment credit (often called buy-now, pay-later) fees and levies.
• Chapter 3 sets out proposed changes to FEES 5 (regarding the UK Financial Ombudsman) and FEES 6 (regarding the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme).
• Chapter 4 sets out joint proposals with the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to amend invoice due dates for firms which pay GBP50,000 or more in FCA and/or PRA fees in a year (referred to as "payments on account").
• Chapter 5 provides updates on various areas of fee policy, including section 166 costs for motor finance firms, pro-rating fees for firms which cancel their permissions, and technical changes to the financial penalty scheme. The FCA also confirms that it does not propose to charge fees to incoming Swiss firms for regulated activities they perform under the Berne Financial Services Agreement.

The deadline for responses is 9 January 2026 for targeted support proposals and 16 January 2026 for all other proposals.

The UK Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill has completed its third reading in the House of Commons with further amendments and now awaits royal assent before becoming law. The Bill gives effect to recommendations of the Law Commission confirming in statute that a thing that is digital or electronic in nature can be recognised as personal property even if it does not fall within the traditional categories of "things in possession" or "things in action". The Bill applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The European Commission (EC) has adopted its Digital Omnibus Package with a set of proposals which seek to simplify rules on AI, data and cybersecurity. This forms part of the EC's broader digital initiative to help EU businesses innovate, scale and save on administrative costs. At the core of the package is the proposal for a regulation on simplification of the digital legislation which introduces technical amendments to a large range of digital laws.

Key measures include:

• AI – providing clarifications and practical measures to ensure smooth application of AI rules, including provisions for regulatory sandboxes and SME-friendly compliance pathways. Further targeted amendments to the EU AI Act are made through a separate legal proposal within the package.
• Cybersecurity – establishing a single-entry reporting mechanism that consolidates mandatory obligations under, among others, the NIS2 Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). In a second stage, sector-specific rules in areas such as energy and aviation will also be integrated into this single-entry point.

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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a letter from the FSB's Chair, Andrew Bailey, addressed to G20 leaders. The letter urges G20 leaders to accelerate efforts to modernise financial regulation while safeguarding stability, citing significant gaps in reform implementation and a challenging economic outlook. The next phase of the FSB's work will look deeper into where full, timely and consistent implementation of global standards, such as Basel III, was not achieved.

The letter highlights the growing influence of non-bank financial intermediaries in global financial markets, now estimated at USD2 trillion globally, and stresses the need for robust monitoring to prevent systemic risks. It also calls for continued attention to national policy barriers to achieve the objectives of the G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments. With the rise of digital assets, the FSB calls on authorities to carefully consider how frameworks are designed to ensure they are effective, consistent, and supportive of safe innovation and notes that it will be equally important to consider how stablecoins can operate effectively and safely across borders. The FSB's work programme for the year ahead will include a focus on stablecoins and other forms of payment.

The Investment Association and the Investment Management Association of Singapore, in partnership with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have released a joint report on challenges and opportunities in tokenised asset markets across the UK and Singapore. The report highlights an "adoption gap" between innovation in digital assets and investor requirements. It introduces a practical operational readiness checklist in section 4, to guide market participants looking to design and launch tokenised financial products.

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The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published its final report on the tokenisation of financial assets. The report summarises observations from IOSCO's monitoring exercise led by its Fintech Task Force. It examines the development and adoption of tokenisation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in capital markets, to share understanding among IOSCO members of current use cases and regulatory responses. IOSCO finds that while tokenisation, enabled by DLT, offers potential efficiency gains such as shorter settlement cycles and improved collateral mobility, adoption remains limited. This is considered to be due to new or heightened risks such as interoperability challenges and the lack of credible settlement assets, which hinder scalability.

Other evolving risks include legal uncertainty, operational vulnerabilities and cyber threats, which mirror existing risk categories but manifest differently under DLT, requiring tailored risk controls. Regulatory approaches to respond to these risks vary globally, with some IOSCO members applying existing frameworks while others have issued new guidance or sandbox programs. The report concludes with examples of steps taken by authorities in various jurisdictions to address the application of existing regulatory frameworks and risks arising from tokenised capital markets products. IOSCO also encourages regulators to apply recommendations from its previous reports on crypto and digital asset markets and decentralised finance to ensure consistent outcomes under the principle of "same activities, same risks, same regulatory outcomes".

The Bank of England (BoE) has published a consultation paper outlining its proposed regulatory framework for sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins. Under the framework, HM Treasury (HMT) will determine which payment systems using stablecoins, and their service providers, are recognised as systemically important. Once designated, these entities will fall within the BoE's remit and be subject to its powers under the Banking Act 2009. The proposed regime does not cover stablecoins used for non-systemic purposes which are not widely used by individuals to make retail or business payments. These activities will remain under the supervision of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).The consultation builds on feedback to the 2023 discussion paper.

Key proposals include:

• Allowing issuers to hold up to 60% of backing assets in short-term sterling-denominated UK government debt, with the remaining 40% as unremunerated deposits at the BoE. Issuers deemed systemic at launch, or transitioning from the FCA regime, may initially hold up to 95% in short-term UK government debt to support viability during growth.

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The Economic Secretary to HM Treasury (HMT) has published a letter confirming it has commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission to produce a comprehensive report on the impact of AI and other disruptive technologies on the UK financial services sector. The research, aligned with the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, will examine emerging technologies, their effect on the sector's growth at both national and regional levels and on implications for customers. It will also identify the skills required for successful adoption and deployment of the technologies and set out a clear plan with actionable steps for employers, employees, education providers and government on how to build the skills required over the next decade. The final report is scheduled for mid-2027.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has published three draft reports proposing amendments to the European Commission's legislative package on the establishment of the digital euro. These proposals collectively aim to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the issuance, use and coexistence of the digital euro alongside physical cash. The first draft report (COM(2023)0369) proposes amendments to the proposed regulation establishing the digital euro as a central bank digital currency, detailing its governance and operational principles. Accompanying this, the second draft report (COM(2023)0368) proposes limited procedural amendments to the proposed regulation on the provision of digital euro services by payment service providers in Member States whose currency is not the euro. Finally, the third draft report (COM(2023)0364) proposes amendments to the proposed regulation on the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins. This measure is designed to safeguard the mandatory acceptance of continued use of cash, ensuring it remains a viable payment option alongside the digital euro.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a statement outlining guidance for firms intending to offer crypto exchange-traded notes (cETNs) to retail investors, following the lifting of its ban effective from 8 October. The products are classified as Restricted Mass Market Investments and only cETNs listed on the FCA's official list and traded on a UK Recognised Investment Exchange are eligible for retail distribution. Firms are expected to hold the appropriate permissions and comply with the relevant financial promotion rules. This includes not offering investment incentives, conducting mandatory appropriateness assessments, categorising clients, providing cooling-off periods and issuing prominent risk warnings. Firms are also expected to meet consumer duty obligations, ensuring products offer fair value, transparency and good consumer outcomes. Firms seeking authorisation or new permissions may request a pre-application meeting with the FCA through its pre-application support service.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Primary Market Bulletin 59 (PMB59). It begins with findings from a review of issuers' compliance with Article 17.4 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) on delayed disclosure of inside information (DDII) under certain conditions. Notably, the FCA observed a 39% drop in DDII notifications, alongside an increase of approximately seven days in average delay periods compared to its previous review in November 2020. While this could be due to fewer instances of information being classified as inside information, or a reduced use of delayed disclosure rather than non-compliance, the FCA reminds issuers of their obligations under UK MAR, including timely DDII submissions and maintaining confidentiality.

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The European Commission (EC) has published a communication alongside a fact sheet outlining its 2026 work programme, which sets out a comprehensive legislative and policy agenda to strengthen the EU. The programme includes 38 new policy objectives across key areas including energy, defence and digital innovation, among others.

Key initiatives include the European Innovation Act, Cloud and AI Development Act and Quantum Act, which seek to accelerate technological progress and support the EU's digital transition. In the area of sustainable finance, the EC includes a package of measures for "the decade ahead" on climate and the Energy Union, aiming to strengthen the EU's climate and energy frameworks. These measures include revising national targets, updating the emissions trading system, and establishing new infrastructure and regulatory frameworks for CO₂ transport, energy efficiency and renewables. A notable focus of the programme is regulatory simplification, with over half of the legislative initiatives designed to reduce administrative burdens and deliver net cost savings, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. The annexes accompanying the work programme list the new initiatives, pending proposals and those the EC proposes to withdraw, among other elements.

The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) has published a report highlighting trends and systemic risks associated with the crypto-asset ecosystem, with a particular focus on stablecoins, crypto-asset investment products and multi-function groups:

• The report notes that global stablecoin market capitalisation has more than doubled since the ESRB's previous assessment in May 2023, driven in part by U.S. policies promoting the adoption of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins. The ESRB flag policy challenges in ensuring that stablecoins issued outside the EU that are non-compliant with MiCAR are not widely used within the EU. The ESRB also flags financial stability risks posed by stablecoins jointly issued by EU and third-country entities, noting that such schemes are not explicitly addressed under the current Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).

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The European Securities Markets Authority (ESMA) has published two Q&A's relating to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR): (i) ESMA_QA_2653 provides guidance on how crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) should distinguish between different types of execution services; and (ii) ESMA_QA_2654 clarifies the respective responsibilities of offerors, persons seeking admission to trading, trading platform operators and other CASPs referenced in Article 66(3) of MiCAR, relating to white papers for crypto-assets (excluding asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens) that were admitted to trading before 30 December 2024.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a thematic peer review report assessing the implementation progress of its 2023 global regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities. As of August of this year, the review shows that while many jurisdictions have made notable progress in regulating crypto-asset activities, there has been slower progress in finalising their global stablecoin arrangements (GSCs). Even where regulatory frameworks have been finalised, alignment with FSB recommendations remains limited, especially regarding stablecoin arrangements and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). These gaps could pose risks to financial stability and to the development of a resilient digital asset ecosystem.

In response to the concerns, the report sets out eight recommendations to address outstanding issues in the following key areas set out below.

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The Bank of England (BoE) has published the terms of participation for its upcoming Synchronisation Lab which will support the testing and refinement of a proposed synchronisation capability for the UK's renewed Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service, RT2. Synchronisation would allow for atomic settlement in central bank money: the conditional settlement of funds in RT2 against assets on a variety of external asset ledgers, meaning that funds in RT2 will settle if and only if the external asset also settles. The Lab is being launched as a platform to simulate the synchronisation interface enabling prospective synchronisation operators (Lab Participants), to develop and demonstrate viable propositions across multiple use cases.

The Lab is scheduled to launch in Spring 2026 and will run for approximately six months across four six-week testing and development phases. In each phase, Lab Participants will showcase end-to-end synchronised transaction flows and interact with synchronisation users. Lab findings will inform the design and delivery of a potential future live RT2 synchronisation capability. Participation is by invitation by the BoE and based on an application process. Technical onboarding will begin roughly one month before launch. Demonstrations and a final report summarising key learnings will follow the Lab's conclusion.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its second consolidated report on sanctions and measures imposed by national competent authorities in Member States in 2024. The report reveals that over 970 administrative sanctions and measures were issued in financial sectors under ESMA's remit, with the total aggregated value of administrative fines exceeding EUR100 million, an increase compared to 2023. The highest number of administrative sanctions and measures were imposed under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR).

The highest amounts of administrative fines for 2024 were imposed under MAR. The more granular data shows that over 60% of all administrative sanctions and measures imposed in 2024 were administrative fines, and 10% were issued using settlement procedures. ESMA also reports that no sanctions or measures were imposed under the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) or the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), while a measure was issued for the first time under the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation. ESMA highlights discrepancies in sanctioning powers across jurisdictions, including differences in the amounts of fines, number and types of sanctions and measures, and use of settlements.

The Bank of England (BoE) has published its approach to supporting responsible innovation across artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology (DLT) and quantum computing. Recognising these as potentially transformative technologies, the BoE emphasises its role in enabling safe adoption while safeguarding monetary and financial stability. The BoE acknowledges that these technologies will significantly impact the work it does, from setting interest rates, to maintaining financial stability, to operating the UK's core payments infrastructure. It also highlights its responsibility to understand and manage the risks and opportunities these innovations present.

To foster a resilient and innovation-friendly environment, the BoE sets out the following three key regulatory levers.

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The European Banking Authority (EBA) has released its 2024 annual report on the convergence of supervisory practices across the EU. The report outlines the EBA's ongoing efforts to strengthen the alignment of supervisory approaches across Member States and across key areas of its activities, including prudential, resolution, digital finance, consumer protection and until the end of this year anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT). In the area of prudential regulation, the report reflects on findings from its 2024 European Supervisory Examination Programme focused on liquidity and funding risk, interest rate risk and hedging, and recovery operationalisation. The report notes that risk levels in these areas remain stable, though challenges persist around data quality, stress testing scenarios and modelling assumptions. The EBA will continue monitoring risks related to online deposit platforms and compliance with Supervisory Outlier Tests in 2025.

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation paper CP25/28, accompanied by a press release, outlining proposals to accelerate the adoption of tokenisation and tokenised funds in the UK. The proposals apply to authorised funds but the FCA's discussion and roadmap sections may be of wider interest to fund and asset managers, including managers of non-authorised funds. The FCA's proposals address fund tokenisation, and do not address unbacked assets such as cryptocurrencies.

The FCA's proposals include:

• Guidance for operating a tokenised fund under the Blueprint model.
• Rules and guidance for an alternative, streamlined dealing model for conventional and tokenised authorised funds, referred to as 'direct to fund' (D2F). D2F has wider application than just to tokenised funds, but the FCA thinks allowing this new dealing model will enable tokenisation.
• A roadmap to advance fund tokenisation and address key barriers.
• A discussion on future tokenisation models that use DLT to provide tokenised portfolio management at retail scale and how regulation may need to change to be fit for the future.

The deadline for responses to the consultation proposals is 21 November, except for the discussion chapter on future tokenisation models, which is 12 December. The FCA expects to publish a policy statement with final rules in the first half of 2026.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a major new partnership and the launch of two TechSprints aimed at accelerating the delivery of open finance in the UK. The announcement follows the FCA's January letter to the Prime Minister which reaffirmed the FCA's commitment to promote digital innovation, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending. To support this vision, the FCA commissioned KPMG and Europe Economics to carry out work to assess the potential benefits of open banking and open finance for consumers and the financial services sector.

As part of its broader innovation strategy, the FCA confirms that its recently launched Smart Data Accelerator, an extension of the FCA's sandbox, will enable the testing of real uses of open finance in practice. The FCA is also collaborating with Raidiam to use its testing environment, which will provide Smart Data Sprint participants with access to a stable environment that mirrors real-world conditions. Following the FCA's Open Finance Sprint held in March, and the publication of the FCA's outcomes report in July, the two upcoming TechSprints will take place between 17 November and 12 February 2026, with separate focuses on mortgages and finance for SMEs. The sprints are now open for registration until 2 November. The FCA will set out a roadmap for open finance by March 2026.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published two opinions in response to the European Commission's (EC) proposed amendments to the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) concerning the composition and liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The EBA considers the EC's proposed changes to be inconsistent with the prudential framework established by MiCAR. The first opinion (EBA/Op/2025/13) addresses amendments to the final draft RTS on liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets. The second opinion (EBA/Op/2025/14) concerns amendments to the final draft RTS on the highly liquid financial instruments (HLFI) with minimal market risk, credit and concentration risk.

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The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) has announced the launch of its new Thematic Innovation Hub. Building on the success of the AI and Digital Hub pilot, the Thematic Hub will provide tailored regulatory advice on priority topics, with its first thematic focus centred on agentic AI – AI systems capable of autonomous decision-making and initiating actions without direct human prompts. As part of this new approach, the DRCF has also published a "call for views" seeking input on the regulatory challenges and opportunities associated with agentic AI. The call for views consists of six questions that stakeholders may choose to respond to or share other insights that they believe are relevant.

The deadline for submissions is 6 November. The DRCF clarifies that it does not intend to issue advice or guidance in response to submissions; the aim is to gather insights to inform future thematic work. Accompanying the launch, the DRCF has published an insights paper that shares learnings from the pilot phase of its AI and Digital Hub.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a report addressing money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks in crypto-asset services, including issuance, trading and service provision. Drawing on lessons from recent supervisory cases across the EU and engagement with national supervisors, the report identifies vulnerabilities in the sector and offers guidance to strengthen compliance and oversight. It examines strategies used by certain crypto-asset service providers and issuers to side-step national AML/CFT supervision, including through unauthorised operations, forum shopping and improper use of certain regulatory exemptions. The report also outlines safeguards introduced by MiCAR and the AML/CFT regime, stating that effective implementation will depend on proactive monitoring of unauthorised activities, continuous risk identification and strong cross-border cooperation, amongst others.

Delegated Regulation 2025/1264 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation) has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Delegated Regulation (adopted by the European Commission on 27 June) sets out regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying the minimum contents of the liquidity management policy and procedures for certain issuers of asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. The RTS aim to ensure that issuers maintain robust liquidity frameworks capable of withstanding both normal and stressed market conditions. The Regulation enters into force on 23 October.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its 2026 annual work programme, guided by its 2023-2028 strategy.

Key priorities include: (i) continuing to build on existing priorities under the savings & investments union (SIU) strategy particularly by aligning supervisory practices across Member States, enhancing market data capabilities and contributing to upcoming reforms designed to create a more integrated and globally competitive EU financial system; (ii) continuing support for key legislative files such as the revised European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR 3) and the European Single Access Point. Other legislative files that may warrant ESMA's involvement include the Retail Investment Strategy, along with the reviews of the Packaged Retail and Insurance-Based Investment Products Regulation, Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and the Securitisation Regulation; and (iii) driving data innovation and market integration through the rollout of the ESMA Data Platform and the development of AI-powered supervisory tools. ESMA will also continue to focus on the effective implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, particularly on the authorisation and supervision of crypto-asset service providers and coordinate closely with market participants on the T+1 settlement cycle towards the agreed implementation date of 11 October 2027.

Alongside the work programme, ESMA has published its simplification and burden reduction document, outlining upcoming publications expected in Q1 and Q2 2026 aimed at streamlining regulatory requirements and reducing compliance burdens.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its 2026 work programme, setting out its key priorities and planned initiatives. The programme is driven by three overarching priorities: (i) developing a rulebook to foster a resilient and efficient financial single market, with proposals to simplify rules, improve public sector coordination and assess the framework's impact. This includes continuing work on the EU banking package and advancing proposals on the forthcoming revised Payment Services Directive 3, the Payment Services Regulation and the Financial Data Access Act; (ii) strengthening risk assessment capabilities through improved data, methodologies and oversight under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (for critical ICT third-party providers), Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (for supervision of crypto-asset issuers) and European Market Infrastructure Regulation (for validation of initial margin models); and (iii) advancing innovation and technological capacity across the financial sector, with a focus on AI and machine learning, including its contribution to the implementation of the EU AI Act. In parallel, the EBA has published a report (EBA/REP/2025/26) proposing ways to streamline the EU's regulatory and supervisory framework, following a comprehensive review earlier this year of four key areas: level 2 and 3 measures, reporting burdens on financial institutions, the EBA's role in the prudential framework and its internal processes. The review resulted in 21 recommendations which are set out in the report.

HM Treasury has announced the formation of a "Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future", jointly established by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The Taskforce aims to strengthen collaboration between the UK and U.S. financial systems, particularly in capital markets and digital assets. Reporting back with recommendations to both ministries through the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG), the Taskforce will explore short- and long-term opportunities on digital assets while legislation and regulatory regimes are still developing, and in wholesale digital markets innovation. It will also assess ways to reduce cross-border capital-raising burdens and enhance market competitiveness in both UK and U.S. markets. The Taskforce is expected to deliver its recommendations within 180 days.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation paper CP25/25 (CP), alongside a press release, setting out its proposed regulatory framework for cryptoasset activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). This follows HM Treasury's (HMT) draft statutory instrument (SI) to bring qualifying cryptoasset activities within the scope of the Regulated Activities Order 2001 (RAO) and under the FCA's remit. Qualifying cryptoasset activities will include issuing qualifying stablecoins, safeguarding qualifying cryptoassets and specified investment cryptoassets, operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform (CATP), intermediation and staking. Firms and individuals undertaking these activities will require FCA authorisation before operating by way of business in the UK.

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Two Commission Regulations supplementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ), namely the:

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1125 of 5 June, which sets out regulatory technical standards specifying the information in an application for authorisation to offer asset-referenced tokens to the public or to seek their admission to trading; and
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1126 of 5 June, which lays down implementing technical standards establishing standard forms, templates and procedures for the information to be included in such applications.

Both Regulations enter into force on the 20th day following publication in the OJ and apply from 5 October.

The Wolfsberg Group has published comprehensive guidance on managing financial crime risks for financial institutions (FIs) that provide banking services to fiat-backed stablecoin issuers. While recognising the legitimate benefits of stablecoins, such as pseudonymity, rapid settlement and global reach, the Group also highlights that these same benefits introduce unique risks. The guidance therefore introduces a risk-based framework for assessing and monitoring relationships with issuers operating in regulated jurisdictions. It notes that although existing financial crime risk management principles remain applicable, existing controls may require adapting to address the specific risks posed by stablecoin issuers. The guidance introduces the relevant terminology used by the Group on stablecoins and describes the typical fiat-based services an FI may offer to a stablecoin issuer, highlighting how financial crime-related controls may require adjustment. It also explains how, under a risk-based approach, an FI may evaluate the issuer's compliance obligations on the blockchain. Ultimately, the Group's view is that the approach to banking a stablecoin issuer mirrors that of any customer relationship: firstly to identify and understand the risks associated with both the customer and the nature of the relationship, as well as evaluate how the issuer manages those risks; secondly to determine whether the issuer's risk profile and mitigation strategies align with its own risk appetite; and finally, the FI should implement a proportionate risk management framework that enables ongoing monitoring of the issuer's behaviour and supports timely corrective action when necessary.

HM Treasury (HMT) has published the draft Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 2025, accompanied by a policy note, for technical consultation. This follows HMT's 2024 consultation on improving the effectiveness of the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), with the government's response published in July this year. The consultation identified key weaknesses in the UK's anti-money laundering (AML) regime, including issues with pooled client accounts, trust registration, cryptoasset regulation and the practicalities of customer due diligence (CDD). The draft statutory instrument (SI) proposes targeted amendments to the MLRs 2017 and related legislation to address these concerns. The key changes are set out below.

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has announced the launch of a new National Risk Assessment (NRA) toolkit aimed at enhancing countries' ability to identify and address money laundering risks. The toolkit supports a risk-based approach aligned with FATF Standards and provides cross-country insights into predicate offences, laundering methods, and proceeds of crime. It focuses on four priority areas that are currently consistently challenging to assess, including: corruption, virtual assets and service providers, legal persons and arrangements, and the informal economy. Quick guides, which include practical examples, have also been published to support risk assessment in each priority area. The toolkit draws on good practices from FATF member jurisdictions and is designed to be flexible and adaptable to country-specific needs. It can be integrated into a full NRA, applied to sectoral or thematic assessments, or used to strengthen broader efforts to improve risk understanding. Coinciding with the launch, on the same day, the FATF has also updated its NRA guidance, to reflect recent changes made to its Recommendation 1 standard and guidance on financial inclusion and anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing measures.

On 20 August, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/885 supplementing the Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the arrangements, systems, and procedures for persons to prevent, detect, and report market abuse, the templates to be used for reporting suspected market abuse, and the coordination procedures between competent authorities for the detection and sanctioning of market abuse in cross-border market abuse situations, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the OJ, being 9 September.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its final report containing final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the prudential treatment of cryptoasset exposures under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), as amended by the CRR3. The RTS specify the technical elements necessary for institutions to calculate and aggregate cryptoasset exposures in relation to the prudential treatment of such exposures. The draft RTS, initially consulted on in January, remain largely unchanged. However, in response to consultation feedback, the EBA: (i) removes the requirement for prudent valuation of fair value cryptoasset exposures; and (ii) introduces a provision clarifying how institutions should aggregate long and short positions when determining the exposure limit. Together with the transitional provisions in CRR3, the RTS provide institutions with an interim method to capitalise cryptoasset exposures until a permanent prudential framework is in place, enabling institutions to participate in the rapidly evolving crypto markets.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that effective from 8 October, retail consumers will be permitted to access crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs), marking a significant shift from the current ban. This move is the latest step in the FCA's evolving approach to establishing a regulatory framework for crypto, in line with its crypto roadmap. To ensure investor protection, cETNs must be traded exclusively on an FCA-approved, UK-based Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE). Firms offering these products will be subject to financial promotion rules to avoid offering consumers inappropriate incentives to invest and to ensure consumers are provided with the right information. While the consumer duty will apply to firms offering these products to retail investors, the FCA clarifies that there will not be coverage from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Consumers should therefore ensure they understand the risks before deciding to invest. The existing ban on cryptoasset derivatives for retail clients remains in force.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the findings from its review on digital design in customers' online journeys when accessing consumer credit, with related press release, identifying good practices and areas for improvement. Although the findings relate to consumer credit providers, other firms with a digital presence may find the examples of good and poor practice useful. The FCA found that some firms' digital design supported good consumer outcomes, such as using simplified language and offering explainer videos. Other firms had less well-designed digital platforms. A particular issue was a lack of "positive friction", meaning consumers were driven towards making quick decisions that did not align with their best interests.

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The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its fifth opinion on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks. In the report, the EBA highlights the growing vulnerabilities in the EU financial sector arising from the growth of technologies, new financial products such as crypto-assets, and the increasing interconnection of financial products and services across sectors. The EBA states that while tools such as RegTech and AI offer potential for enhanced compliance, their improper implementation (often due to lack of expertise and oversight) has led to serious compliance failures. Competent authorities have reported high or rising ML/TF risks in Fintech firms and crypto-asset service providers linked to weak AML/CFT controls and governance. Additionally, the use of AI by criminals to automate laundering and forge documents is outpacing institutional defences. The EBA notes that supervisory engagement has improved the capability of some sectors to fight financial crime. The EBA emphasises the importance for consistent application of the new EU AML/CFT legal framework.

The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, has published a sector-specific threat assessment report highlighting significant compliance risks facing UK cryptoasset firms in relation to financial sanctions. Covering the period from January 2022 to May of this year, the report concludes it is "almost certain" that UK cryptoasset firms have underreported suspected sanctions breaches since being designated as "relevant firms" under the UK sanctions regulations, in August 2022. OFSI identifies inadvertent non-compliance due to direct and indirect exposure to designated persons (DPs) and sanctioned entities such as the Russian exchange Garantex, cyber threats from DPRK-linked hackers exploiting cryptoassets to evade sanctions and transfers to Iranian cryptoasset firms with suspected links to DPs. The report emphasises the importance of timely and accurate reporting, enhanced due diligence and the use of blockchain analytics to detect and mitigate sanctions risks. OFSI urges firms to adopt a risk-based approach, conduct retrospective reviews and report any suspected breaches to OFSI, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the National Crime Agency.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have jointly published a set of nine system priorities to combat economic crime in the UK, in line with the UK's second Economic Crime Plan and the National Risk Assessment. Backed by the Home Office, HM Treasury, the National Economic Crime Centre and UK Finance, the priorities seek to enhance public-private collaboration, enabling regulated firms to allocate resources more effectively while maintaining compliance. Key focus areas include money laundering through UK corporate structures linked to certain jurisdictions; fraud originating from international offenders; exploitation of money mules; and criminal cash consolidation via UK banking channels.

Additional priorities target terrorist financing; sanctions evasion by professional enablers; abuse of power by overseas Politically Exposed Persons; and the resilience of the cryptoasset ecosystem against criminal abuse. The only predicate offences explicitly listed in these priorities are those which fall under the definition of economic crimes—namely fraud, sanctions evasion and terrorist financing. However, the priorities concerning money laundering methods are intended to apply to all potential predicate offences, including but not limited to organised immigration crime, drug and firearms offences and human trafficking. A newly established System Prioritisation Governance Group will oversee governance of the priorities, with further guidance expected to be published in due course to support firms in aligning with these objectives.