UK regulator proposes updated crypto financial crime guidance

what happened

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on revised financial crime guidance for crypto firms, according to NewsBTC. The proposed update to the FCA's Financial Crime Guide covers customer checks, blockchain analytics and the Travel Rule, and sits alongside topics such as fraud, sanctions, data security and money laundering. Responses are due December 24.

The regulator stresses that the guide would not create new rules. Its focus is how firms assess customers and transactions and how they respond when risk changes. Among the proposals is a question on whether policies and staff training separate obligations under proceeds-of-crime law from those under terrorism legislation.

Separately, the FCA expects the wider cryptoasset regime to start on October 25, 2027, and applications for authorization are already open.

why it matters

For exchanges and custodians, buying a screening tool is only part of compliance: thresholds, alert reviews and documented decisions still need staff. Stablecoins are in scope too, since a stable price says nothing about who sent the funds, so transaction risk is treated separately from market risk. The document is a consultation and does not postpone existing anti-money-laundering duties.

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