Friday, 18 September 2026
UK financial and law-enforcement authorities have carried out another operation against businesses suspected of providing unregistered peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading services in London, extending an enforcement campaign that began earlier this year.
The Financial Conduct Authority worked with HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police on the operation, which took place on 10 September and covered three premises in the capital. The businesses were instructed to stop the activities under investigation through cease-and-desist notices issued at each location.
The action focuses on people conducting direct cryptocurrency transactions as a commercial activity rather than individuals occasionally buying or selling digital assets privately. Businesses providing this type of service in the UK are required to meet the applicable registration requirements. The FCA says there are currently no peer-to-peer crypto businesses registered with it.
Regulators are particularly concerned that businesses operating outside the registration system can provide channels through which illegally obtained money is transferred or concealed. Registration under the UK’s anti-money-laundering framework requires businesses to maintain controls intended to identify suspicious activity and reduce financial-crime risks.
The latest intervention follows an earlier operation in April, when the FCA and partner authorities targeted eight London premises. Information collected during that operation is now contributing to criminal investigations and other enforcement activity.
The FCA has been increasing its activity around unregistered digital-asset businesses as the UK prepares to introduce a substantially broader regulatory framework for crypto. Previous enforcement has included the prosecution of an operator of an unlawful cryptocurrency ATM network and cooperation with police investigations into suspected illegal crypto exchanges.
The timing is significant because the regulatory environment for the sector is entering a transitional period. The FCA has provided further guidance explaining which activities will fall within the UK’s future crypto regulatory system, with the broader framework scheduled to take effect in October 2027.
The expanded regime will bring a wider range of digital-asset activities within financial regulation. Businesses already operating in the sector will therefore need to determine whether their activities require authorisation under the new framework rather than assuming that an existing registration will be sufficient.
Until the wider framework takes effect, much of the UK crypto market remains outside the regulatory system applying to conventional financial services, although requirements covering areas including money laundering and financial promotions already apply. The September enforcement operation was conducted under the UK’s existing anti-money-laundering legislation.
The latest London action therefore comes as the UK moves from a relatively limited regulatory approach towards a more extensive authorisation system for digital assets. For businesses operating in the market, the combination of enforcement against unregistered activity and preparations for the 2027 regime points to increasing regulatory scrutiny before the new framework formally takes effect.
Source: CMS
