REGULATION | U.K Regulator Conducts Second Law Enforcement P2P Crypto Crackdown in 6 Months

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said it had stepped up action against illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading targeting three London premises suspected of operating unregistered crypto businesses.

The FCA, working with HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police Service, carried out the operation on September 10 2026 and issued cease-and-desist letters at all three locations requiring the suspected businesses to stop trading.

P2P crypto trading involves individuals buying and selling digital assets directly with one another.

Anyone conducting such activity by way of business in Britain is required to obtain appropriate registration. The FCA said there are currently no registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating in the UK.

The regulator said unregistered operators could provide a route for criminals to move and launder illicit funds because they operate outside controls designed to detect and prevent money laundering.

Steve Smart, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said:

“Working with partners, we continue to track and disrupt illegal crypto activity. Anyone running an unregistered peer-to-peer crypto business should assume we are looking at them.”