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UK Treasury Eying New Rules for Crypto Firms

By  |  December 15, 2025

U.K. Treasury officials are drafting legislation that would bring crypto companies fully under the supervision of the country’s financial regulatory regime starting in 2027, according to multiple reports. If enacted, the Treasury proposal would regulate crypto firms the same way as traditional financial firms, subjecting them to consumer protection, transparency and market-conduct standards enforced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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    Up to now, crypto firms have operated in the U.K. with little regulatory oversight apart from anti-money laundering rules.

    “Bringing crypto into the regulatory perimeter is a crucial step in securing the UK’s position as a world-leading financial center in the digital age,” Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, said in a statement.

    The proposal would move the U.K. closer to the current U.S. approach to cryptocurrencies and shift it away from the European Union’s regulatory framework in place since 2024.

    Britain has said it would collaborate with the U.S. on the best approach to digital assets through a “transatlantic taskforce,” per Reuters.

    “By giving firms clear rules of the road, we are providing the certainty they need to invest, innovate and create high-skilled jobs here in the UK, while giving millions strong consumer protections, and locking dodgy actors out of the UK market,” Reeves added.

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    The U.K. move adds fuel to the intensifying competition among financial hubs to claim a share of the burgeoning crypto action as digital assets play an increasing central role in the world of finance.

    Read more: CFTC Gives Formal Blessing to Spot Trading of Crypto on Registered Exchange

     “We want the UK to be at the top of the list for crypto assets firms looking to grow and these new rules will give firms the clarity and consistency they need to plan for the long term,” Lucy Rigby, the minister for the City of London, said.

    The move also comes as the U.K. has lately seen a surge in the amount of money lost to financial fraud, with crypto thought to play a leading role, according to The Guardian.

    Zhimin Qian, a Chinese woman living in the U.K. was convicted in September over a multi-billion pound bitcoin fraud that burned 128,000 victims between 2014 and 2017. The Metropolitan police believe it is the largest single cryptocurrency seizure in the world. Qian pleaded guilty at Southwark crown court on Monday to acquiring and possessing cryptocurrency that was criminal property, per the Guardian.

    Cryptocurrencies have recently become a flashpoint in British political campaigns. Reform UK, lead by Nigel Farage, this year became the country’s first political party to accept contributions in digital currency, receiving donations in bitcoin and other currencies through an online portal.

    Ministers are also drafting plans to ban such donations over fears that the use of crypto makes it difficult to identify their sources, The Guardian reported earlier this month.

    While the Treasury proposal is pegged to take effect in 2027, other centers of U.K. financial oversight plan to have their own crypto rules in place by the end of 2026. The FCA itself is working to implement new rules tailored specifically for crypto assets regarding issuance, trading, market abuse and custody. The Bank of England introduced its own proposal in November for regulating cryptocurrencies used in everyday payments.