On 29 May 2026, HM Treasury (HMT) wrote to the Co-Chairs of the Crypto & Digital Assets APPG.
Summary
HMT set out that it recognises the potential for digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and that this is why the Government introduced the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which establishes a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.
HMT further explain that the legislation’s implementation period is intended to help manage implementation costs for the sector and give firms time to come into compliance before the new requirements come into force and also that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expects to finalise its rules by mid-2026, and for the application period to be open from 30 September 2026, in order to give firms sufficient time to secure authorisation before the regime goes live on 25 October 2027.
HMT therefore argues that the current timetable strikes the right balance between implementing the regime at pace and allowing firms sufficient time to adjust their processes as required and secure authorisation and, further, that the FCA is putting in place a range of provisions to encourage high quality applications and efficient processing, including offering firms a free pre- application meeting, providing key information ahead of the gateway opening, and prioritising its resource as needed.