Digital Assets Laws & Regulations

United Kingdom

Chapters & Answers

12 chapters with 52 sections

1.1

What is the general regulatory environment for digital assets in your jurisdiction?

The United Kingdom has taken a pragmatic, evolving approach to regulating digital assets, in alignment with broader policy goals of ensuring consumer protection and financial stability while promoting international competitiveness. The UK’s regulatory architecture—rooted in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)—defines “cryptoassets” and gives regulators the power to regulate them. Policymakers believe that rulemaking by regulators rather than Parliament allows for a flexible yet structured environment that can adapt to new developments in blockchain technology and the crypto market, ensuring that innovation is balanced with strong consumer safeguards. The primary supervisory authority for digital asset activities is the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), responsible for registration under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations to oversee cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers. The FCA is also responsible for supervising financial promotions involving cryptoassets under the amended Financial Promotion Order to prevent fraud and protect consumers. With cryptoassets now due to come under the same regulatory regime as traditional finance, HM Treasury, the FCA and Bank of England are leading ongoing regulatory development—through consultations and ultimately new regulation—which will cover areas such as issuance, custody, staking, and DeFi‑related activities. This coordinated approach aims to provide clarity for businesses, protect investors, and maintain the UK’s competitiveness as a global fintech and digital-innovation hub.

Contributing Editors

Lisa McClory

CMS

Lisa McClory is an Of Counsel within the Finance and Emerging Technology teams at CMS London. With over 20 years of experience as a solicitor, she provides specialist legal counsel on the integration of transformative technologies within complex commercial and regulatory environments, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence and digital assets. At CMS, Lisa advises on the evolving legal landscape surrounding Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and data resilience. Her work focuses on helping institutional clients and multinational corporations mitigate the cybersecurity risks posed by quantum advancements, such as the “harvest now, decrypt later” threat to encrypted data assets. She provides a strategic interface between technical breakthroughs and compliance with the EU and UK GDPR and international financial services law. Her areas of expertise include quantum and cyber law, with a focus on the legal implications of quantum computing for data governance, encryption standards and institutional risk management; financial regulation and fintech, including the regulatory impact of quantum-enhanced modelling and AI on market stability, algorithmic trading and prudential regimes for digital asset and financial services firms; and commercial technology governance, including structuring and negotiating complex deep-tech agreements, with an emphasis on “compliance by design”, liability frameworks and risk management. In addition to her role at CMS, Lisa is an Honorary Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London and a member of the Law Society of England and Wales Technology and Law Committee. She also serves as a member of the UK Civil Justice Council AI Working Group and has completed the Open Data Institute certification in Data Ethics. Her multidisciplinary approach combines a rigorous legal background with a nuanced understanding of data science, providing clients with a balanced perspective on the risks and opportunities of the growing quantum economy. She is a Solicitor of England and Wales.

Erica Stanford

CMS

Erica Stanford advises on crypto, digital assets, AI and risk at international law firm CMS. She is the bestselling, award-winning author of Crypto Wars: Faked Deaths, Missing Billions and Industry Disruption and writes and speaks internationally on crypto, digital crime, scams, misinformation and disinformation, crypto risk and AI risk. Her work focuses on crypto and digital assets, risk, fraud, and scams, misinformation and disinformation, and AI risk, ethics and governance. She advises on identifying vulnerabilities and managing legal, regulatory and operational risk in crypto, digital assets and AI. Her published work spans crypto, AI, digital crime, scams, misinformation and public policy. It includes LexisNexis practice notes on The Dark Web and AI in Government and Public Policy: Regulatory Frameworks, Ethical Considerations, Challenges and Trends; contributions to Global Legal Insights on autonomous AI, including Who is Responsible When AI Acts Autonomously and Things go Wrong? and ethical AI; and a chapter on An Outline of Scams and Crime in Crypto in There’s No Such Thing as Crypto Crime: An Investigative Handbook by Nick Furneaux. She has also written on misinformation and disinformation, legaltech and law firms, and the UK legal and regulatory treatment of AI, blockchain and cryptoassets. She is also the author of Stablecoins: Law, Regulation and Technology, to be published by Edward Elgar in late 2026. In addition to her writing and advisory work, Erica is currently completing a Master’s degree in Data and AI Ethics at the University of Edinburgh. She is also training for a 2,100km crossing of Antarctica, planned for 2027–2028.

Charles Kerrigan

CMS

Charles Kerrigan is a Partner in the Finance team and part of the specialist Crypto and Digital Assets team at CMS London. He specialises in emerging technologies, including crypto, digital assets, tokenisation, Web3, decentralised finance and artificial intelligence. He advises on corporate finance and venture capital transactions in these sectors, as well as on consulting projects relating to blockchain and AI for public bodies, policy makers, standards institutions and corporations. Charles has worked on transactions worth over $5 billion funding fintech platforms and has advised more than 500 cryptoasset clients, including global exchanges, blockchain gaming projects, DeFi and Web3 platforms, and clients involved in crypto and digital assets investment, M&A and tokenisation projects for debt, equity and alternative assets. He is part of teams working on investing in and setting standards for emerging technology in the UK, Europe and the US. In addition to his role at CMS, Charles holds a number of advisory and board positions across the technology and investment landscape, including with Cointelligence Fund, Holistic AI, Hedgehog, the Investment Association Engine, the Association of Real Estate Funds, Big Innovation Centre and AI & Partners. His policy and law reform work has included roles with the UK All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain, the Bank of England’s Financial Markets Law Committee on Virtual Currencies, the UK LawTech Delivery Panel, UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT, and the UK Law Commission commercial law team on emerging technology policy. Charles is also a widely published author and editor on crypto, digital assets and AI law and regulation, including Artificial Intelligence Law and Regulation, Crypto and Digital Assets Law and Regulation, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation, and other leading practitioner texts. The Blockchain Industry Landscape Overview has described him as one of the UK’s leading influencers on blockchain, and he has been recognised as a recommended lawyer for blockchain and digital technology in the UK Parliament Hub.

Digital Assets Laws & Regulations

Chapters & Answers

Introduction

What is the general regulatory environment for digital assets in your jurisdiction?

Regulatory Framework

Market Access and Licensing

Security and Consumer Protection

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

Cross-Border and International Considerations

Investment and Fundraising

Taxation

Enforcement and Dispute Resolution

Opportunities and Challenges

Emerging Trends

Conclusion