Cryptoasset activity is currently regulated through registration requirements, with a broader regime developing. This page sets out the authorisations a stablecoin business needs in the United Kingdom, who grants each one and what it covers, alongside how many companies hold them today. The figures come from the registers Anvesan reads and are updated as those registers change.
These 77 authorisations belong to 74 companies. The company-level records are in Atlas Pro.
One authorisation can cover several activities, so these figures overlap.
The main activities a stablecoin business may carry out, and the authorisation each one requires. A business carrying out several activities may need more than one licence.
No bespoke stablecoin issuance authorisation is yet live. Issuing a fiat-referenced qualifying stablecoin becomes a regulated activity under FSMA via SI 2026/102, in force 25 October 2027, with FCA applications from 30 September 2026. Today an issuer is not specifically authorised for issuance unless the token is e-money under the EMRs 2011. For systemic sterling stablecoins the Bank of England will run a separate regime (final rules expected H2 2026, still proposed).
Custody is regulated both today and tomorrow. Live: a custodian wallet provider safeguarding cryptoassets or private keys must register with the FCA under the MLRs. Incoming: safeguarding qualifying cryptoassets (and arranging safeguarding) becomes a full FSMA regulated activity requiring FCA authorisation from the 25 October 2027 commencement, applications from 30 September 2026. No automatic conversion from MLR registration to FSMA authorisation.
Live: fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto exchange providers (incl. ATMs and on/off-ramps) must register with the FCA under the MLRs. Incoming: operating a cryptoasset trading platform plus dealing as principal/agent and arranging deals become FSMA regulated activities (in force 25 Oct 2027). HMT's 21 April 2026 draft amending SI carves UK qualifying stablecoins out of dealing/arranging, routing UKQS-based on/off-ramping toward the payments regime.
Live: fiat payments, e-money and stored value run on EMI/PI authorisation under the EMRs 2011 and PSRs 2017 (FCA). No live stablecoin-payments licence. Incoming: HMT intends to regulate UKQS payments as payment services as part of payment-services reform; the EMRs/PSRs are being revoked and replaced, with a HMT consultation on the reform due Q2 2026 and replacement SI expected 2027-2028.
No stablecoin-specific card regime. Card issuing, BIN sponsorship and consumer spend apps that load fiat/stablecoin to cards are regulated under the existing FCA payments perimeter (EMRs/PSRs) and card-scheme rules. Loading a stablecoin onto a card requires a conversion step that itself triggers MLR registration (exchange) today and the FSMA regime later.
No stablecoin-specific cross-border regime. Cross-border value transfer, B2B FX settlement and consumer remittance are regulated under the FCA payments perimeter (PSRs money remittance / payment services) today; where the flow converts fiat-to-stablecoin, that conversion is a regulated exchange activity needing MLR registration now and FSMA authorisation later. Settlement using UK qualifying stablecoins will route into the reformed payments regime once HMT's stablecoin-payments reform is in force.
The statutory clock is the formal decision period, where the regulator publishes one. “Observed” is the real-world timeline reported by applicants, not a figure the regulator sets. Capital is the regulatory minimum, not legal or advisory fees. Where a figure is not yet available, we show “Unavailable”; where one exists but Anvesan has not verified it, we show “Not sourced”.
The Atlas column maps a licence to a tracked licence family only where the two are the same thing. Where they are not, it reads Not mapped, and the family counts are in Authorisations by licence above.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
| Capital requirement | Unavailable |
|---|
Prudential requirements were finalised in FCA policy statements PS26/9 and PS26/10 of 30 June 2026 and apply from the regime's start.
Application fee Unavailable until applications open on 30 September 2026.
The Bank of England's systemic stablecoin rules are still at consultation. Final rules were expected in the second half of 2026 and have not been published.
The Bank of England's systemic stablecoin rules are still at consultation. Final rules were expected in the second half of 2026 and have not been published.
| Capital requirement | Unavailable |
|---|
Application fee Unavailable until the regime is made.
The FCA must determine an application within three months of receiving the application form, or of receiving any further information it requires. A request for information moves the deadline out rather than pausing it. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
The three months run from a file the FCA treats as complete, and getting there is the long part. The range is what applicants report, not a figure the FCA publishes.
| Capital requirementthe Money Laundering Regulations impose no capital requirement on a registered cryptoasset business | None set |
|---|
Registration is an anti-money-laundering permission. It carries systems, controls and fitness requirements, not prudential ones.
Application fee One off, payable on submission. A firm applying after 30 September 2026 that also applies for FSMA authorisation pays a single fee, the higher of the two.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
| Capital requirement | Unavailable |
|---|
Prudential requirements were finalised in FCA policy statements PS26/9 and PS26/10 of 30 June 2026 and apply from the regime's start.
Application fee Unavailable until applications open on 30 September 2026.
The FCA must determine an application within three months of receiving the application form, or of receiving any further information it requires. A request for information moves the deadline out rather than pausing it. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
The three months run from a file the FCA treats as complete, and getting there is the long part. The range is what applicants report, not a figure the FCA publishes.
| Capital requirementthe Money Laundering Regulations impose no capital requirement on a registered cryptoasset business | None set |
|---|
Registration is an anti-money-laundering permission. It carries systems, controls and fitness requirements, not prudential ones.
Application fee One off, payable on submission. A firm applying after 30 September 2026 that also applies for FSMA authorisation pays a single fee, the higher of the two.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
| Capital requirement | Unavailable |
|---|
Prudential requirements were finalised in FCA policy statements PS26/9 and PS26/10 of 30 June 2026 and apply from the regime's start.
Application fee Unavailable until applications open on 30 September 2026.
The FCA has three months from a complete application to grant or refuse, under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
The clock starts at completeness. Safeguarding arrangements, the wind-down plan and fit-and-proper assessments of every controller are where the time goes.
| Authorised EMI, initial capitaland at all times thereafter | GBP 350,000 |
|---|---|
| Small EMIcapped at EUR 5 million of outstanding e-money | None |
| Application feeauthorised EMI; GBP 1,130 for a small EMI | GBP 5,640 |
Ongoing own funds of about 2 percent of outstanding e-money apply on top, and safeguarded customer funds are separate from own funds.
Application fee GBP 5,640 for an authorised EMI, GBP 1,130 for a small EMI.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
The FSMA cryptoasset regime is not open. SI 2026/102 comes into force on 25 October 2027 and the FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 to 28 February 2027, so no decision period has been observed and no application fee is set for it yet.
| Capital requirement | Unavailable |
|---|
Prudential requirements were finalised in FCA policy statements PS26/9 and PS26/10 of 30 June 2026 and apply from the regime's start.
Application fee Unavailable until applications open on 30 September 2026.
The FCA has three months from a complete application to grant or refuse, under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
The clock starts at completeness. Safeguarding arrangements, the wind-down plan and fit-and-proper assessments of every controller are where the time goes.
| Authorised EMI, initial capitaland at all times thereafter | GBP 350,000 |
|---|---|
| Small EMIcapped at EUR 5 million of outstanding e-money | None |
| Application feeauthorised EMI; GBP 1,130 for a small EMI | GBP 5,640 |
Ongoing own funds of about 2 percent of outstanding e-money apply on top, and safeguarded customer funds are separate from own funds.
Application fee GBP 5,640 for an authorised EMI, GBP 1,130 for a small EMI.
The FCA has three months from a complete application to grant or refuse, under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
As with the EMI, the statutory period begins at completeness and assembling the file is the long part.
| Money remittance only | GBP 20,000 |
|---|---|
| Payment initiation services | GBP 50,000 |
| Executing transactions, acquiring, issuing instruments | GBP 125,000 |
Ongoing own funds are calculated under Method A, B or C and can exceed the initial figure as volume grows.
Application fee GBP 5,640 for an authorised payment institution, GBP 1,130 for a small one.
The FCA must determine an application within three months of receiving the application form, or of receiving any further information it requires. A request for information moves the deadline out rather than pausing it. Anvesan has not established a statutory deadline, so we do not infer one.
The three months run from a file the FCA treats as complete, and getting there is the long part. The range is what applicants report, not a figure the FCA publishes.
| Capital requirementthe Money Laundering Regulations impose no capital requirement on a registered cryptoasset business | None set |
|---|
Registration is an anti-money-laundering permission. It carries systems, controls and fitness requirements, not prudential ones.
Application fee One off, payable on submission. A firm applying after 30 September 2026 that also applies for FSMA authorisation pays a single fee, the higher of the two.
Regulatory changes only: what is being decided, by whom, and when. Company-level licence changes are tracked in Atlas Pro. Reviewed 10 September 2026.
SI 2026/102 was made on 4 February 2026 and comes into force on 25 October 2027. It makes issuing a qualifying stablecoin, safeguarding qualifying cryptoassets, operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform, dealing and arranging, and qualifying cryptoasset staking regulated activities. The FCA accepts applications from 30 September 2026 until 28 February 2027.
What changes It is a window, not an opening. A firm that misses 28 February 2027 does not have a permission in place when the regime starts on 25 October 2027.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/102 · FCA direction on the relevant application period for a cryptoasset permission
SI 2026/102 comes into force. From that date the new regulated activities require FCA authorisation, and the MLR registration route stops carrying the business on its own.
What changes Every UK cryptoasset firm on this page has to be authorised, not just registered, by that date.
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/102
The Bank will run a separate regime for sterling stablecoins used at systemic scale in UK payments, recognised as a systemic payment system by HM Treasury. Final rules were expected in the second half of 2026 and remain proposed.
What changes A sterling stablecoin that reaches systemic scale moves from FCA authorisation into the Bank of England's regime, with separate banking and capital requirements.
Bank of England, systemic stablecoin consultation
Atlas tracks 77 authorisations across 74 companies in the United Kingdom, read from official registers and checked on 21 September 2026. Of those, 70 are licensed, 1 are in the pipeline, and 6 have ended.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The framework is FCA cryptoasset registration (MLRs); FSMA cryptoassets regime opening 2026.
This page lists 11 authorisations, each with the regulator that grants it and what triggers the requirement. Which one applies depends on the activity.
It depends which authorisation. The licence table carries the statutory decision period where a law sets one, the timeline applicants report in practice, and the minimum capital for each. Where a regime is not yet in force, we show “Unavailable”.