UK FCA publishes three further consultation papers on new rules establishing UK cryptoassets regime

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.

The second consultation is CP25/41 on admissions, disclosures and a market abuse regime for cryptoassets. It set out proposals for two new regimes under the designated activities regime (DAR) under Part 5A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000:

• Admissions and disclosures (A&D) – governing public offers of qualifying cryptoassets and their admission to trading on cryptoasset trading platforms (CATPs), and disclosure obligations relating to admissions to trading and the issuance of UK-issued qualifying stablecoins.
• Market Abuse Regime for Cryptoassets (MARC) – introducing requirements to prevent, detect and disrupt market abuse in cryptoasset markets.

The consultation paper explains the changes that the FCA has made in response to feedback since its December 2024 discussion paper. The FCA confirms that it intends to consult on consequential changes to other parts of the Handbook in 2026.

The third consultation is CP25/42 on a prudential regime for cryptoasset firms. This sets out the proposed prudential requirements for cryptoasset firms and builds on the earlier proposals in CP25/15. In CP25/15, the FCA proposed two new prudential sourcebooks, COREPRU and CRYPTOPRU, and covered some aspects of the prudential regime for regulated cryptoasset firms, with a particular focus on stablecoin issuers and custodians of cryptoassets. This consultation builds on those proposals and covers the remaining activities, including CATPs, staking, arranging deals, and dealing as agent or principal (including lending and borrowing). The paper includes a draft instrument showing the full set of proposed rules.

The FCA has also released two research notes on cryptoasset consumer research 2025 and cryptoasset regulation and consumer decision-making.

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