FCA

Europe’s crypto market is moving from the race for regulatory approval into a phase defined by compliance capacity, balance sheet strength and institutional partnerships. As MiCA takes hold and the U.K. advances its own framework, smaller firms may face pressure to merge, sell or align with banks already built for regulation.

Coinbase has gained U.K. authorization to expand beyond crypto into traditional investment services, including equities and derivatives. The approval strengthens its push to build an Everything Exchange model in one of its key international markets.

A former FCA policymaker says the U.K. has not rejected crypto so much as split its approach between institutional progress and slow retail oversight. She argues the real bottleneck is execution, not ambition.