The UK Financial Conduct Authority has opened two crypto-related consultations, identified in the supplied FCA excerpts as GC26/7 and CP26/36. They address separate issues: one examines how existing operational-resilience, financial-crime and anti-money-laundering obligations apply when regulated firms use DeFi, while the other considers how recent legislative changes affect the UK cryptoasset regulatory perimeter. Responses to both consultations are requested by 18 November 2026.

What the FCA’s DeFi consultation covers

The DeFi consultation is presented as guidance on how existing rules apply when regulated firms provide financial services using DeFi, rather than as a separate new DeFi regime. In the supplied FCA excerpt for GC26/7, the exercise is described as non-Handbook guidance intended to help firms comply with operational-resilience and financial-crime rules, as well as the Money Laundering Regulations.

This distinction matters for those asking whether the FCA is introducing new DeFi-specific obligations. Based on the available FCA wording, the exercise is interpretive: it addresses how current requirements apply to more automated, distributed-ledger-based service models. The same excerpt indicates that the consultation is primarily aimed at FCA-regulated firms providing financial services through DeFi, though it is also relevant to firms interacting with DeFi, advisers and industry bodies.

What the cryptoasset perimeter consultation is testing

CP26/36 concerns where UK crypto regulation begins and which activities may sit outside its scope through exclusions, rather than a broad debate on crypto policy. Supplied FCA excerpts describe it as guidance on how recent legislative changes affect the UK cryptoasset regulatory perimeter.

Those excerpts highlight specific boundary issues, including decentralisation, safeguarding exclusions, qualifying stablecoins, proprietary trading and market making, and technical service providers. They also refer to exclusions for temporary settlement arrangements and certain arrangements involving the holding of qualifying stablecoins and backing assets. Put simply, the consultation tests how firms should assess borderline cases when determining whether an activity requires authorisation.

Within the scope of the same consultation, the FCA says it aims to publish final guidance for CP26/36 in January 2027 after considering feedback.

Who may need to act before January 2027

The next formal deadline is 18 November 2026, when responses to both consultations are due. The perimeter consultation is directly relevant to firms preparing authorisation decisions. In the supplied CP26/36 excerpt, the FCA says the application period for existing UK cryptoasset businesses seeking to carry out new regulated cryptoasset activities opened on 30 September 2026 and closes on 28 February 2027. Firms seeking the savings provision must apply during that window.

This makes the perimeter guidance more than a technical paper. It affects how firms classify their business models and permissions while the application process remains open. Meanwhile, the DeFi consultation matters for firms already using DeFi or facilitating access to it as part of regulated activity, as it indicates how the FCA expects existing resilience, financial-crime and AML controls to operate in those settings.

One caveat remains important: the supplied evidence directly states a January 2027 target for final CP26/36 guidance, but the excerpts reviewed do not state the same timetable for GC26/7.