Share this article
UK’s FCA Seeks Public and Industry Views on Crypto Regulation
The Financial Conduct Authority is seeking views on intermediaries, staking, lending and borrowing, and decentralised finance.
Updated May 2, 2025, 3:18 p.m. Published May 2, 2025, 9:23 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
- The Financial Conduct Authority is seeking feedback on various aspects of cryptoassets, including intermediaries and decentralized finance.
- The discussion paper follows draft legislation by the Treasury aimed at bringing specific cryptoasset activities under FCA regulation.
- The FCA aims to create a crypto regime that ensures market integrity and consumer protection while allowing innovation.
The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking views on intermediaries, staking, lending, borrowing, and decentralised finance (DeFi), in a discussion paper released on Friday.
The discussion paper follows draft legislation by the Treasury that was announced on Tuesday. Once the legislation passes it will bring specific crypto activities within the FCA’s regulation, the regulator said on its website.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
"Crypto is a growing industry. Currently largely unregulated, we want to create a crypto regime that gives firms the clarity they need to safely innovate, while delivering appropriate levels of market integrity and consumer protection," said David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA.
The crypto industry has said the regulator, which has had oversight of crypto since 2020 under its anti-money laundering rules, has been too restrictive at times. It has registered 51 firms of the 368 applications it's received in the past five years. A new authorization regime for offerings should kick in by 2026.
Among the topics in the discussion paper is whether firms should be able to accept credit cards to pay for crypto purchases.
"We are considering a range of restrictions, including restricting the use of credit cards to directly buy cryptoassets, and using a credit line provided by an e-money firm to do so," the discussion paper said.
The deadline for comments is June 13 and the FCA will consult on the final regime later this year.
UPDATE (May 2, 12:10 UTC): Adds no. of firms approved since 2020, credit card purchases starting in fourth paragraph.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Ukraine banned Polymarket and there’s no legal way for it to come back
Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
What to know:
- Ukraine has no legal framework for Web3 prediction markets, and current legislation provides no recognition for such platforms.
- Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
- Legal changes are unlikely in the near future, as Parliamentary revisions to gambling definitions are extremely improbable during wartime, leaving prediction markets in a legal deadlock.
Top Stories
