FCA Consults on Staking, DeFi and Exchanges in UK Crypto Push
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened consultations on proposed rules for digital asset markets, aiming to build a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework. The proposals address standards for crypto trading platforms, intermediaries, staking, lending, borrowing, market abuse, disclosures, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Responses to the consultation are open until February 2026. The FCA emphasizes supporting innovation while ensuring consumer protection and transparent conduct, but notes that regulation will not remove all risks. New rules would align crypto market oversight—including admissions, disclosures, and trading integrity—with traditional finance, and introduce measures against insider trading and market manipulation. The FCA seeks industry input on rules for staking services and yield-bearing products, as well as safeguards for crypto lending and borrowing. It also questions whether DeFi should be regulated like traditional financial services. Currently, most crypto activities remain unregulated in the UK outside of financial promotion and anti-money laundering laws. Meanwhile, the UK government plans to introduce legislation by October 2027 to extend existing financial laws to crypto assets, placing them under FCA oversight.
