Robinhood Cleared for UK Crypto, But There Are Major Limits
Robinhood Markets gained UK crypto approval on July 31. The shock is every little thing the approval doesn’t permit.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added Robinhood U.Okay. Ltd to its crypto register. The firm could cross buyer orders to different companies. It can not maintain anybody’s cash.
What the FCA really accredited
Robinhood has been an FCA-approved stockbroker in Britain since August 2019. Crypto is new floor. The regulator added it to the crypto register on July 31, 2026.
Two limits took impact the identical day, with the primary one mattering most:
- Robinhood UK could solely prepare crypto trades.
In plain phrases, it takes your order and palms it to another person to complete.
UK crypto guidelines cowl two different jobs. One is operating an trade. The different is holding cash for clients. Robinhood bought neither.
- The second restrict bans crypto money machines except the FCA agrees in writing.
The register additionally says the agency can not maintain consumer cash. Even this a lot is difficult to win. FCA figures present 291 companies utilized between January 2020 and October 2022. Only 38 made the register. Another 155 gave up earlier than a choice.
One level issues for clients. Being on the register isn’t a security internet. The FCA warns that crypto providers are unlikely to be protected if one thing goes incorrect.
Britain’s compensation scheme hardly ever covers crypto losses. The monetary ombudsman often can not assist both.
Rivals Got There First, With More Freedom
Robinhood is late. The register opened in 2020.
Kraken’s UK arm, Coinbase, and Revolut are all on it. Several additionally maintain e-money licences, which allow them to deal with buyer money. Robinhood UK doesn’t.
It already owns one firm on the record. Bitstamp UK Ltd joined years earlier, and Robinhood purchased its dad or mum for $224 million in June 2025.
That makes Bitstamp the plain place for UK orders to land.
Robinhood has additionally tried and failed right here earlier than. It agreed to purchase British crypto app Ziglu in April 2022. Ten months later it walked away. The $12 million it had already despatched Ziglu was written off.
So the brand new approval seems to be like housekeeping relatively than a launch. Robinhood instructed buyers in July it plans to start out UK crypto quickly.
Its personal small print nonetheless says UK clients get no crypto buying and selling or custody. Elsewhere the corporate retains constructing, together with its Robinhood Chain public testnet.
Why October 2027 Decides What Survives
This approval is momentary. Tougher UK crypto rules begin on October 25, 2027.
Every agency on at present’s register should apply once more. Nothing carries over.
The window is 5 months lengthy. Firms that miss it should cease most crypto work. The FCA has warned that at present’s registration counts for nothing at that stage.
That deadline has pushed Britain’s crypto policy debate all yr, alongside UK stablecoin payment plans.
For buyers, any reward is years away. Crypto income fell 38% to $100 million in Robinhood’s second quarter. Total income nonetheless hit a document $1.31 billion.
The market shrugged on Monday. HOOD closed Friday at $86.56, then traded at $87.22 earlier than the bell, up 0.76%. Its 52-week high is $153.86.
The actual check comes with that 2027 software. Robinhood sells buying and selling, custody, and staking throughout Europe. An arranging license helps none of it.
What the corporate asks for will present how severe it’s about Britain.
The publish Robinhood Cleared for UK Crypto, But There Are Major Limits appeared first on BeInCrypto.