FCA widens crackdown on unlicensed peer-to-peer crypto trading in London
Regulation & Gov ·
British regulators shut down three more suspected illegal crypto trading sites in the capital, part of a widening enforcement push against operators who trade outside any licensing framework.
On September 10, the Financial Conduct Authority carried out a joint operation with HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police, visiting three London premises and handing out cease and desist notices at each, according to Decrypt. The action was carried out under money laundering rules dating to 2017, and builds on a similar sweep in April, whose findings are reportedly now feeding into ongoing criminal investigations.
The regulator's stance rests on a simple fact: it has not registered a single peer-to-peer crypto trading business anywhere in the UK. That means any individual buying and selling crypto directly with others as a commercial operation is, by definition, running unlicensed. FCA enforcement head Steve Smart framed the message bluntly, warning that anyone operating such a business "should assume we are looking at them."
Officials argue that traders operating outside registration bypass the anti-money-laundering checks that licensing would otherwise impose, creating an opening for illicit funds to move undetected. A Metropolitan Police detective sergeant involved in the operation acknowledged the difficulty of the task, noting that the pace at which crypto can cross borders complicates investigative work, and said the force is adjusting its methods as those it targets do the same.
The FCA has pursued this kind of action before, including a four-year prison sentence handed down over an illegal crypto ATM network, plus its support for an arrest tied to an unlicensed exchange. For now, crypto activity in Britain remains governed mainly by anti-money-laundering and financial-promotion rules rather than a dedicated licensing regime, which is why this operation relied on decade-old legislation instead of crypto-specific law. That is due to change when a new FCA regime takes effect on October 25, 2027, with authorization applications opening September 30.
What remains unclear is how many other unregistered P2P operators are active across the country, and whether the evidence gathered from the two 2025 sweeps will lead to formal charges. Broader UK regulatory context on the issue is tracked by leviathan.news.