HM Treasury has made the Regulations that will introduce several new designated and regulated activities relating to crypto assets. In the main, the Regulations take effect on 25 October 2027, but take effect in part at the end of this month to enable the FCA to make appropriate rules and guidance and to enable the permission and approval process to start. Among other things, the Regulations:
- set out new designated activities for public offers of qualifying cryptoassets and admissions to trading on a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform and enable the FCA to make rules relating to those activities;
- set out the crypto asset market abuse regime and give the FCA appropriate rulemaking powers;
- amend the RAO to include new definitions and new regulated activities and exclusions from them:
- issuing qualifying stablecoins;
- safeguarding of qualifying cryptoassets and specified invesment cryptoassets;
- operating a qualifying cryptoasset trading platform;
- dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as principal;
- dealing in qualifying cryptoassets as agent;
- arranging deals in qualifying cryptoassets; and
- qualifying cryptoasset staking
- amend FSMA to bring cryptoassets within scope of existing definitions and requirements;
- amend the FPO in line with RAO changes;
- make consequential change to other financial market statutory instruments and the MLRs; and
- set out how the transition will be managed.