On 5 June 2026, the FCA published a quarterly consultation paper (CP26/17), proposing changes to its Handbook provisions across several areas including measures affecting cryptoasset firms.

The proposals include a revised annual fees and levies framework based on annual regulated income, with authorised firms required to report income data annually. The FCA also proposes narrowing the Section 21 approval notification requirements for qualifying cryptoasset financial promotions (under section 55NA of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000). Under the proposal, notifications would only be required where the approval is given within three months of a firm's permission being initially granted or subsequently varied, or where the promotion relates to a qualifying cryptoasset direct offer financial promotion.

The consultation closes on 13 July 2026.

On 8 June 2026, UK Finance, in partnership with Freshfields, published a report entitled “Unlocking Growth Through a Stronger UK-EU Financial Services Partnership”, together with a press release.

The report calls for financial services to be included in the wider UK-EU political reset and for a more strategic bilateral relationship, setting out short-term, medium-term and long-term priorities.

Among other things, the short-term priorities focus on enhancing technical cooperation on digital money, digital assets and tokenisation through a dedicated EU-UK working group. Key proposals include:

• Digital money, assets and tokenisation: ensuring infrastructure interoperability, coordinating prudential standards, and aligning anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) approaches;
• Tokenised deposits: accelerating their cross-border viability by developing common interoperability standards and ensuring reciprocal access to market infrastructure; and
• Stablecoins: exploring a mutual recognition framework for stablecoins, underpinned by a robust Memorandum of Understanding between the Bank of England, the European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank.

On 3 June 2026, the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee (FSRC) published a report on the growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK, following an inquiry launched in January 2026 that focused on the regulatory proposals of the Bank of England (BoE) and the FCA.

Key conclusions and recommendations of the report include:

• Several aspects of the UK's proposed regime would diverge from equivalent international frameworks, including requirements for systemic issuers to hold unremunerated backing assets, proposed stablecoin holding limits, and restrictions on commercial banks issuing stablecoins;
• The BoE should conduct more granular modelling of the impact of holding limits on high-value use cases;
• HM Treasury, together with the BoE and the FCA, should consider whether existing legal frameworks are sufficient to detect and deter illicit activity involving private, unhosted and unregulated wallets, and be prepared to legislate to restrict their use where necessary;
• HM Treasury should provide greater clarity on how it will determine whether a stablecoin is systemic; and
• The FCA should reconsider whether a k-factor (i.e. activity-based factors which determine how much capital should be held) requirement for stablecoin issuers that increases with the volume of stablecoins issued is an appropriate way to determine that element of the capital requirements.

The BoE has also published draft rules for the regulation of sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins (see the separate item below).

On 3 June 2026, the FCA published responses to firms’ questions on how the obligations under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs 2017) will apply to firms providing services under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which will come into force on 25 October 2027.

Key points include:

• Regulatory perimeter and transition: Firms seeking to provide cryptoasset services before the new regime comes into force must continue to register under the MLRs 2017. However, there will be no automatic transition to the new regime, and firms will need to obtain FCA authorisation or vary their existing permissions. The FCA will accept authorisation applications between 30 September 2026 and 28 February 2027 and encourages firms to pursue authorisation under the new regime rather than MLR registration;
• Authorisation expectations: The FCA notes that the financial crime assessment under the new regime will be broader than the current MLRs 2017 registration process and will include governance, systems and controls, resources and readiness;
• Anti-money laundering (AML) governance: Firms should ensure that individuals in key AML roles, including the money laundering reporting officer (MLRO), have the necessary competence, experience, time and resources to perform their responsibilities effectively; and
• Crypto-specific risk assessments: Firms should adopt a risk-based approach to assessing money laundering and terrorist financing risks arising from their cryptoasset activities. Business-wide risk assessments should be tailored to the firm’s transaction flows and exposure points, and should demonstrate how they drive customer due diligence, monitoring and wider control frameworks.

On 22 June 2026, the Bank of England (BoE) published a policy statement on the regulation of sterling-denominated systemic stablecoins, together with a draft Issuer Code of Practice (the Code).

Key points from the policy statement include:

• In developing its policy decisions and draft rules, the BoE considered feedback received in response to its November 2025 consultation, as well as recommendations made by the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee (FSRC) in its June 2026 report (see the separate item above).
• The BoE has made targeted revisions to its 2025 proposals, including:
  • Increasing the proportion of backing assets that may be held in short-term UK government debt from 60% to 70%, with the remaining 30% to be held in unremunerated BoE deposits; and
  • Replacing proposed per-coin holding limits for individuals and businesses with a temporary guardrail on the level of issuance per systemic stablecoin product, initially set at £40 billion.
• The BoE has also made a number of clarificatory changes, for example in relation to the distinction between the prohibition on interest or returns linked to the holding or retention of stablecoins, and permitted activity-based rewards linked to payments or transaction activity.

Feedback is requested by 22 September 2026, after which the BoE intends to finalise the Code by the end of 2026. BoE consultations on a number of further supporting materials are expected in 2027. The BoE and the FCA are working closely to deliver an end-to-end regime, including a managed transition as firms grow from non-systemic to systemic. An Approach to Joint Regulation document will be published alongside the FCA’s final rules. The aim is for the UK regulated stablecoin regime to become operational from 2027.

On 16 June 2026, HM Treasury published the Terms of Reference and a press release for the Wholesale Digital Markets Champion role, following the appointment of Chris Woolard CBE on 21 April 2026 to the role. The role is intended to work with industry and government to accelerate the digitalisation of UK wholesale financial markets.

The Champion will:

• Establish a cross-industry taskforce, comprising representatives from across the market ecosystem, to provide input and support;
• Deliver a report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, developed with industry, on how UK wholesale markets can best adopt tokenisation and other related technologies, and how the sector and government can support distributed ledger technology (DLT) interoperability;
• Promote implementation of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy (published as part of the Leeds Reforms in July 2025) across the sector; and
• Coordinate with the chairs of the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce and the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce as they implement programmes to deliver T+1 settlement and remove paper share certificates.

The Champion is expected to provide an initial update, including plans for establishing the industry taskforce, by July 2026. A full report on DLT adoption and interoperability will be submitted to the Chancellor by July 2027.

On 9 June 2026, the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/621) (the Regulations) were made and published, together with an explanatory memorandum. The Regulations amend the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs), as well as related provisions in the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The Regulations introduce a number of changes, including revisions to customer due diligence (CDD), enhanced due diligence (EDD) and additional due diligence requirements in relation to cryptoasset businesses. In addition, the Regulations strengthen the anti-money laundering (AML) framework for cryptoasset firms by introducing new EDD requirements for cryptoasset correspondent relationships and making amendments to the change in control regime for registered cryptoasset firms, reflecting the new cryptoassets regulatory framework established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026.

Most provisions come into force on 30 June 2026, while the new EDD requirements for cryptoasset correspondent relationships will take effect on 1 February 2027.

On 11 June 2026, it was reported that Hungary's government plans to decriminalise crypto trading by reversing restrictions introduced under the so-called Crypto Act in 2025, which imposed criminal liability, including prison sentences of up to two years, on certain crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions. A government spokesperson stated at a press conference that the existing framework had contributed to a decline in crypto trading activity and negatively affected market participants.

On 5 June 2026, the Central Bank of the Philippines published a memorandum to Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) setting out new coin and token listing guidelines. The memorandum clarifies the regulatory expectations for VASPs when conducting due diligence on virtual assets offered to customers, requiring firms to establish a “robust due diligence and accreditation process”. VASPs are also required to conduct ongoing monitoring of the criteria applied during the listing process and to define thresholds for departures from those standards that would trigger the delisting of a virtual asset. In addition, VASPs are prohibited to list or support anonymity-enhancing virtual assets (commonly known as privacy coins).

On 9 June 2026, Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, outlined proposed additional sanctions aimed at limiting Russia's ability to finance its war in Ukraine. The measures include tighter restrictions on the provision of cryptoasset services to certain third countries, new sanctions designations, and a proposed ban on 11 cryptoasset platforms.

On 24 June 2026, ESMA published a statement (dated 23 June 2026) to clarify expectations for how unauthorised cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) must wind down activities, while also protecting investors, after the end of the transitional period under the Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA). This builds on an April 2026 ESMA statement about the end of transitional periods under MiCA.

According to the statement, ESMA expects unauthorised CASPs to take steps to wind down their EU activities in an orderly manner, meaning they should:

• Immediately stop onboarding new clients, refrain from opening new client relationships or accounts and cease marketing activities.
• Limit the provision of services to actions necessary to sell or transfer cryptoassets, reallocate assets or close positions. Custody of clients' cryptoassets should only continue for the period necessary to complete an orderly exit.
• Communicate clearly, promptly and repeatedly with all clients about the measures taken to safeguard their assets and the wind-down plans. Clients should know the timeline to dispose of, transfer, reallocate or close their positions. Communications should include a deadline by which any residual positions will be closed automatically, as well as information about client protection requirements.
• Maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) controls, including customer due diligence measures, transaction monitoring, screening against restrictive measures and sanctions lists, suspicious transaction and activity reporting, record-keeping requirements and compliance with transfer of funds and cryptoasset transfer traceability obligations.

CASPs established outside the EU are also reminded that they cannot provide MiCA services to EU clients or solicit EU clients (except where services are strictly provided at the client's own exclusive initiative).

On 26 June 2026, the EBA published a consultation paper on a methodology for setting fines under the Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA).

The EBA has power under Article 131 of MiCA to impose fines for breaches of the Regulation on issuers of significant asset-referenced tokens and significant e-money tokens, both of which it is responsible for supervising.

While MiCA sets maximum amounts of fines, the precise amount imposed is to be decided on a case-by-case basis. The EBA has developed a draft methodology to provide a consistent and transparent approach to imposing fines on issuers of tokens subject to its supervision.

The draft methodology is based on practices that apply to similar types of fines in other regulatory frameworks at the EU and national levels and consists of two steps:

• Determining the basic amount of a fine; and
• Adjusting that basic amount to reflect the existence of any aggravating or mitigating factors specific to the individual case.

The EBA may adjust the resulting amount further if this is necessary to reflect its supervisory and consumer protection objectives, subject to the maximum limits set by MiCA.

The EBA will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed methodology on 16 July 2026. The consultation closes on 28 September 2026, after which the EBA will finalise and publish the methodology.

On 29 June 2026, the European Commission updated its webpage on its targeted consultation on the review of the Regulation on Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) to extend the feedback period until 30 September 2026. It has also updated its webpage on the public consultation to reflect the same change. Both consultations were launched by the Commission on 20 May 2026 (see the May edition of our Newsletter).

On 29 June 2026, the EU Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) published an advisory note on money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) risks resulting from the end of the transitional period for the Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA) (1 July 2026).

As well as setting out the risks, the note identifies mitigating measures that can be taken by the cryptoasset sector, anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the finance of terrorism (CFT) supervisors, and financial intelligence units (FIUs) to address the risks.

ML/TF risks and mitigating measures include:

• Risk of weakened AML/CFT controls during exit: Where wind-down plans are established, firms should implement plans in a structured and well-documented manner to ensure the orderly cessation of activities. Throughout the wind-down process and until all regulated activities have ceased, firms should maintain adequate AML/CTF governance and resources and ensure enhanced monitoring.
• Risk of illicit flow concealment during exit: Throughout the wind-down process, and until all regulated activities have stopped, firms should ensure compliance with AML/CFT obligations. This includes the requirement to maintain up-to-date customer due diligence information, and identify and report suspicious activity.
• Sudden changes in risk exposure: Cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) onboarding new customers from unauthorised virtual asset service providers (VASPs) should ensure the scalability of their AML/CFT controls and maintain adequate staffing and system capacity.

On 11 June 2026, the Polish government announced that the President of Poland had vetoed three pieces of legislation, including the Cryptoasset Market Act. The veto came just weeks before the end of the transition period under the EU's Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA) on 1 July 2026 (see the May edition of our Newsletter). According to a press report, this is the third time that the President has vetoed cryptoasset legislation, leaving Poland as the only EU member state yet to implement a domestic framework supporting MiCA. As a result, Poland's alignment with the EU-wide cryptoassets regime is likely to be delayed. Following the 1 July 2026 deadline, Poland-based cryptoasset service providers that have not obtained a MiCA licence may no longer have a legal basis to provide services to customers across the EU.

On 1 June 2026, European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel delivered a speech examining how the nature of money is changing and how fiat-pegged stablecoins may affect the future of money. Schnabel noted that stablecoins could offer benefits such as near-instant settlement, programmability, global accessibility and lower-cost cross-border payments. However, she also highlighted potential risks, including financial stability concerns and implications for the international monetary order.

Schnabel called on central banks to adapt to technological innovation while establishing frameworks that allow private innovation to develop safely. She emphasised that new forms of private money, including stablecoins and tokenised deposits, should complement rather than displace public money. In this context, she highlighted the Eurosystem's strategy of preserving the role of central bank money through the continued digitalisation of monetary and payment infrastructure, including the development of a digital euro as a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) and tokenised central bank money as a wholesale CBDC.

On 22 June 2026, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the National Credit Union Administration and the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) jointly proposed the Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuer Customer Identification Programme, introducing identity verification requirements for stablecoin issuers as part of the implementation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

The proposal would implement the GENIUS Act's directives to treat permitted payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and require issuers to maintain an effective customer identification programme. Stablecoin issuers would be required to verify the identity of customers, retain records of all information, and screen customers against government lists of suspected terrorists for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) purposes.

Comments on the proposal are invited until 21 August 2026 and it is expected to take effect 12 months after publication of the final rule.