CP26/36: Cryptoasset perimeter guidance
AI Analysis
The FCA is consulting on amendments to PERG guidance explaining exclusions created by the draft Cryptoassets (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026. The clarification is material for firms assessing whether their activities will require FCA authorisation from 25 October 2027, particularly technical-service providers, stablecoin payment arrangements, settlement intermediaries and proprietary traders; market commentary indicates that the exclusions are fact-dependent and do not automatically exempt DeFi front ends or automated blockchain services.
Key dates
- 2026-09-30
- The application period opened for existing UK cryptoasset businesses seeking to conduct new regulated cryptoasset activities and benefit from the savings provision.
- 2026-10-21
- FCA consultation CP26/36 opened and was published.
- 2026-11-18 Deadline
- Deadline for responses to FCA consultation CP26/36.
- 2027-01-01
- FCA aims to publish final perimeter guidance after considering consultation responses.
- 2027-02-28 Deadline
- Application period closes for firms seeking to rely on the savings provision for newly regulated cryptoasset activities.
- 2027-10-25
- The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 are scheduled to bring the new cryptoasset activities into the FCA regulatory perimeter.
Suggested considerations
- Firms should map each proposed and existing cryptoasset activity against the statutory regulated activities in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 and the proposed PERG guidance, documenting the factual basis for any exclusion relied upon.
- Technical-service providers should assess whether they merely provide access to a third-party service or decentralised protocol, or whether they also arrange, execute, safeguard, operate, control or otherwise provide a service to users; the use of automation or decentralised technology should not be treated as determinative.
- Stablecoin and payment businesses should identify the precise duration, purpose, parties and asset flows associated with temporary holding and backing-asset arrangements and test whether the relevant statutory conditions are met.
- Trading firms and market makers should distinguish genuine proprietary trading from activity performed as a service for another person and retain evidence supporting any reliance on the proprietary-trading or qualifying-cryptoasset-trading-platform market-maker exclusion.
- Firms should review safeguarding and settlement structures, including structures involving central securities depositaries and third-country central securities depositaries, for possible inclusion within the proposed exclusions or within regulated custody-related activities.
- Businesses that may need authorisation should consider submitting responses to CP26/36 by 18 November 2026 and should not defer application planning while the guidance remains in consultation.
- Existing UK cryptoasset businesses seeking to conduct newly regulated activities should consider submitting an otherwise complete application between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027 to preserve access to the applicable savings provision.
- Firms materially affected by uncertainty about the technical-services-provider exclusion should consider engaging the FCA through its pre-application support service and retaining evidence of how that uncertainty affected application preparation.
What changed
The FCA proposes guidance on exclusions from regulated cryptoasset activities introduced by the draft Cryptoassets (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026. The examples include temporary settlement arrangements; temporary arrangements for holding UK qualifying stablecoins in connection with payment transactions; arrangements involving backing assets held in relation to a UK qualifying stablecoin; proprietary trading where the person is not providing a service to another person; proprietary trading by a market maker on a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform; and technical services that merely provide access to services supplied by a third party or to a decentralised protocol. The guidance is intended to update the Perimeter Guidance Manual, including PERG 18, alongside the wider regi
Compliance impact
The immediate publication is guidance consultation rather than a final new obligation, but it materially affects perimeter analysis and authorisation strategy ahead of the 25 October 2027 commencement date. Firms that incorrectly rely on an exclusion may face carrying on regulated activities without the required FCA permission, while firms that apply unnecessarily may incur avoidable authorisation
Who is affected
Related regulations
References
AI-generated analysis. May contain errors or omissions — verify with the original FCA source before acting. Full disclaimer.
What the FCA said
We're consulting on guidance to help firms understand new exclusions from cryptoasset regulation, following recent legislative changes. ... Read CP26/36 (PDF)Why we are consultingWe're consulting on guidance to explain how recent legislative changes affect the UK's cryptoasset regulatory perimeter. The draft…
Extract from FCA . Read the full notice at the source for the authoritative text.