According to the source, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has accelerated approvals for crypto firms while the number of new applications has declined, signaling a shift in the UK market’s compliance pipeline (source: the source). FCA registration is mandatory for UK cryptoasset exchange and custody businesses under the Money Laundering Regulations, enabling firms to legally serve UK customers once registered (source: UK Financial Conduct Authority). A faster approval cadence means more compliant platforms can onboard UK users and operate within the cryptoasset financial promotions rules that took effect in October 2023, improving legal access to GBP funding and marketing for eligible firms (source: UK Financial Conduct Authority). Traders should monitor updates to the FCA cryptoasset register and firms’ financial promotion permissions to anticipate which UK venues will expand access to GBP pairs and onboarding for major assets such as BTC and ETH (source: UK Financial Conduct Authority).