The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday it had carried out its first joint operation to disrupt illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, targeting eight premises across London.
Working with HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit, the FCA said it visited sites suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto activity and issued cease-and-desist letters at each location. Evidence gathered during the inspections is now supporting several ongoing criminal investigations, the regulator said in an official notice.
Peer-to-peer crypto trading involves individuals buying and selling digital assets directly rather than through a centralized exchange, and the FCA said such activity requires appropriate registration. It added that there are currently no FCA-registered peer-to-peer crypto traders or platforms operating in the UK.
Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, stated that unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders in the UK are operating illegally and pose a financial crime risk. The agency said it would continue using its powers with partner agencies to disrupt them.
Law enforcement struck a similar tone. Detective Inspector Ross Flay of SWROCU argued that unregistered peer-to-peer traders can provide a route for criminals to move, disguise, and spend illicit money.
The action extends a pattern already visible in the FCA’s crypto enforcement work. The regulator noted that it previously prosecuted an individual for operating an illegal network of crypto ATMs and, in June 2024, worked with London police to arrest two people suspected of running an illegal crypto exchange.
Thomas Cattee, a white-collar crime partner at Gherson Solicitors LLP, said the latest move shows the FCA is broadening that approach rather than waiting for the UK’s fuller crypto regime to take effect.
"This latest announcement from the FCA demonstrates a continued proactive willingness to pursue individuals alleged to be involved in unregistered crypto-asset activity," Cattee said. "In the latest news, the FCA has demonstrated that they are willing, in conjunction with other agencies, to go after individuals alleged to be involved in unregistered peer-to-peer crypto trading."
In the background, Britain’s wider crypto framework is still being built out. Even with the full regime not expected to kick in until October 2027, some crypto-related activities already require FCA registration, including for anti-money laundering purposes, Cattee said.
The FCA itself underscored that point in its release, noting that crypto remains a high-risk investment and is still largely unregulated in the UK outside anti-money laundering and financial promotion rules.
Meanwhile, regulators continue preparing for a bigger supervisory role in crypto. The Block has recently reported on the FCA’s push toward a September 2026 opening for its licensing gateway, fresh consultation work on crypto rules ahead of the 2027 rollout, and new registrations for firms such as Blockchain.com.
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