UK Crypto Ban Lifted, But Retail Investors Still Can’t Buy – What’s the Holdup?

The UK Financial Conduct Authority lifted its ban on crypto exchange-traded products for retail investors, effective October 2. However, delays in prospectus approvals mean UK consumers will face nearly a week longer before they can purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked ￰2￱ to the FT , the regulator only began accepting prospectuses on September 25, just two weeks before the expected launch date, frustrating industry executives who blame inadequate preparation ￰3￱ FCA will take days to review each company’s prospectus and may seek further comments, potentially delaying launches until at least October ￰4￱ regulatory approval, the London Stock Exchange must also approve ￰5￱ delay stems from discussions between the regulator and the LSE about whether another exchange segment is needed for retail-focused ￰6￱ marks the first time UK retail investors can access regulated crypto products since the FCA implemented its 2021 ban on crypto derivatives and ETPs , citing concerns about volatility and ￰7￱ is how you onboard a ￰8￱ Core-powered ETP on the London Stock Exchange is a monumental step forward, making productive Bitcoin accessible to millions of investors across the ￰9￱ — Core DAO (@Coredao_Org) October 1, 2025 FCA Accelerates Approvals as Application Volume Drops 43% The FCA has accelerated its review process, cutting approval times by two-thirds since ￰10￱ to a Cryptonews report , five firms, including BlackRock and Standard Chartered, received registrations, lifting approval rates to 45% compared with less than 15% over the previous five ￰11￱ average processing time decreased from 17 months to just over five months.

However, applications dropped from 46 in the year to April 2023 to 26 in the year to April 2025, with actual approvals declining from eight in 2022-23 to three in ￰12￱ observers suggest that companies may be waiting for the FCA’s full regulatory framework, which is set to launch in 2026, before pursuing approval. UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is speeding up crypto approvals after years of criticism, clearing five firms since April. #UK #CryptoMarket ￰0￱ — ￰13￱ (@cryptonews) September 22, 2025 The regulator now offers pre-approval meetings with case officers and hosts roundtables to clarify expectations around registration ￰14￱ September 17, the FCA opened a consultation on applying the same regulatory standards to crypto firms as to traditional financial institutions, establishing baseline rules while weighing sector-specific ￰15￱ January 2026, crypto platforms will be required to collect detailed customer information on every trade, aligning with the OECD’s global reporting ￰16￱ FCA is consulting on whether crypto firms should face identical standards to banks, including governance, financial crime controls, and consumer protection ￰17￱ Force Targets Unified Digital Asset Framework While waiting for approvals, the UK and ￰18￱ the creation of the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future during President Donald Trump’s September state visit, seeking to strengthen cooperation on digital asset regulation and capital ￰19￱ initiative follows a high-level meeting between Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, attended by executives from Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, Citi, Bank of America, and ￰20￱ task force will be jointly chaired by HM Treasury and ￰21￱ officials, with participation from the FCA and the ￰22￱ is expected to report back within 180 days, focusing on the interoperability of the regulatory framework, particularly in areas such as asset custody, anti-money laundering standards, and stablecoin oversight.

Additionally, the improving regulatory appetite contrasts sharply with the Bank of England’s simultaneous proposal to impose strict ownership limits of £10,000 to £20,000 for retail and £10 million for businesses on systemic ￰23￱ proposal has drawn fierce industry criticism, with concerns that the plan risks stifling growth and putting Britain behind its global ￰24￱ of England Governor says stablecoins could reduce UK reliance on commercial banks while proposing controversial ownership caps. #UK #Stablecoin ￰1￱ — ￰25￱ (@cryptonews) October 1, 2025 In line with this, the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey outlined plans to grant widely used stablecoins access to central bank accounts, while warning that the tokens could reshape Britain’s financial ￰26￱ described stablecoins as potentially separating money holding from credit provision, reducing the role of commercial banks in the ￰27￱ global stablecoin market has grown to $300 billion and received a major boost after Congress passed the GENIUS Act in July.