HM Treasury on Sept. 15, 2026 laid draft regulations before Parliament that would remove routine payment-related transfers of UK-issued qualifying stablecoins from the licensing rules that apply to dealing in and arranging cryptoasset transactions — a day before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published final guidance, on Sept. 16, spelling out which crypto activities will need its authorization once the UK’s new crypto regime takes effect on Oct. 25, 2027.
The exemption applies only to a “UK qualifying stablecoin” (UKQS) — a token issued through the FCA-regulated “article 9M” activity by an authorized UK issuer; stablecoins issued overseas, or tokens that merely track sterling without meeting that test, do not qualify. Under the draft, sending a UKQS to another person, or exchanging it for money or another UKQS, would fall outside the dealing-as-principal, dealing-as-agent and arranging-deals rules. The carve-out narrows rather than removes the perimeter: swapping a UKQS for another cryptoasset such as Bitcoin remains regulated, as does any transaction where the recipient has a right or obligation to return the stablecoin — covering ordinary stablecoin lending and borrowing. A separate safeguarding change excludes only temporary holding connected with executing a payment; firms that provide ongoing custody, such as maintaining a customer’s wallet, still need authorization. The draft also adds a narrower wholesale-style exception for some collateral and repo arrangements, and aligns the financial-promotion (marketing) exclusions with the same boundaries.
Firms whose crypto activities fall inside the FCA’s newly confirmed perimeter — including issuing qualifying stablecoins, running trading platforms, dealing, arranging deals, safeguarding crypto and arranging staking — can apply for authorization in a window running from Sept. 30, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027 to use transitional arrangements; the FCA said existing registrations and permissions will not convert automatically. The regulator said it will separately consult — in October 2026, per its press release, or “late 2026” per its policy statement, with final guidance due in early 2027 — on further guidance covering UK stablecoins, proprietary trading and market making, technology providers, decentralized-finance interfaces, central securities depositories and financial promotions. The guidance follows a 78-response consultation in April 2026, core crypto rules finalized in June 2026, and a UK-US joint roadmap published in July 2026 on aligning rules for tokenized assets and cross-border stablecoins.
According to HM Treasury’s explanatory memorandum, cited by CryptoSlate, the changes are meant to “remove unnecessary regulatory barriers” while keeping standards for activities that pose material risks; the same reporting notes that Treasury’s separate, longer-term payments reform has yet to set the rules for how stablecoins are used in payments more broadly. The FCA’s David Geale, who oversees consumers, payments and competition, said in the regulator’s release that “getting ready for regulation starts with understanding how the regime applies to your business.”
References
Unchained – UK Tells Crypto Firms Who Needs a License as Treasury Moves to Exempt UK Stablecoin Payments / CryptoSlate – UK opens a major loophole for stablecoin payments while clamping down on crypto lending / Coin Edition – UK Stablecoin Rules Split Payments From Lending Under 2027 Crypto Regime
