The Financial Conduct Authority said on October 21 that crypto applications selecting trading venues or transaction routes based on price, liquidity, costs or execution speed may be carrying out an activity requiring authorization. Decentralized finance aggregators and automated trading interfaces that compare liquidity sources or determine how customer orders are routed could therefore fall within the UK’s incoming licensing regime. The FCA added, however, that interfaces that transmit instructions without influencing execution, or use predetermined and objective routing rules, may remain eligible for the technical-services exemption. Affected firms must apply between September 30, 2026, and February 28, 2027, while final guidance is targeted for January 2027 and the consultation paper points to spring 2027 instead.
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