Binance to seek FCA license as UK opens new crypto regime
Regulation & Gov ·
The exchange plans to file for regulatory approval when Britain's application window opens next month, marking its first formal bid to operate in the UK since losing its registration there.
Binance, described as the world's largest crypto exchange, will submit a license application to the Financial Conduct Authority when the filing window opens on September 30, according to Cointelegraph, citing The Telegraph. The move would bring the exchange back into direct contact with a regulator that has previously barred it from operating in the country.
The UK relationship has been strained for years. In 2021, the FCA banned Binance's UK entity from carrying out regulated activities, and the exchange later canceled its registration with the regulator altogether. The new application represents an attempt to reset that relationship under a fresh legal framework rather than the one that produced the earlier ban.
That framework is still being built out. The rules under which Binance would seek approval are expected to take full effect only in October 2027, meaning the license window opening next month is an early step in a multi-year regulatory rollout rather than an immediate green light. The Telegraph report notes plainly that the regulator rarely says yes, underscoring that a filing is not the same as an approval.
The same development is described in a corroborating account noting that Binance's plan to apply for an FCA license fits into the broader launch of a new UK regulatory regime for crypto set to formally begin in October 2027, framing the exchange's move as part of a wider re-entry effort into the British market rather than an isolated filing. That account, along with the wublockchain.xyz report, situates Binance's application within this longer regulatory timeline.
What remains unclear is how the FCA will treat the application given the exchange's history with the regulator, and whether the 2021 ban or the later deregistration will factor into its review. Also unresolved is what specific conditions or restrictions might accompany any approval, and whether Binance's UK operations would resemble its offerings elsewhere or be scaled back to meet local requirements. With the filing window not opening until September 30 and the regulatory regime not fully active until October 2027, the process is likely to unfold over an extended period, leaving the ultimate outcome of the application an open question for now.