The UK FCA adds Blockchain.com to its registry of licensed crypto companies; Blockchain.com withdrew its application in 2022 and pivoted operations to Lithuania
The London-based company elected to withdraw its application for FCA licensing in March 2022 having not won approval ahead of an impending deadline.
Context & Ripple Effects
Blockchain.com’s registration closes a long regulatory loop: it withdrew its earlier application as the FCA’s approval deadline approached, after the regulator had approved only 27 of more than 100 applicants for its register. The company then shifted operations to Lithuania.
The FCA’s earlier extension of its crypto-company approval deadline underscored how consequential registration was for firms seeking to remain in the UK market. This outcome shows that the company has re-engaged with that framework rather than relying solely on its post-2022 operating pivot.
First-order effects
- Blockchain.com gains a place on the FCA’s registry of licensed crypto companies, changing its immediate UK regulatory standing.
- The company’s earlier Lithuania pivot is no longer its only visible response to the UK licensing regime; its UK compliance posture is now tied to FCA registration.
Second-order effects
- Other crypto firms that left, delayed, or failed the earlier UK registration process have a concrete example that participation can be revisited, though the corpus does not establish how readily approval is obtainable.
- Registered rivals now compete with Blockchain.com within the same UK regulatory perimeter, making registration status a more direct competitive baseline for UK-facing crypto activity.
Third-order effects
- If more firms follow this path, UK crypto market access may increasingly be organized around national registration while companies maintain operations across other European jurisdictions—a form of regulated liquidity fragmentation.
- The case supports a gradual narrowing of the crypto legitimacy gap: regulatory registration becomes a recurring prerequisite for major platforms’ market positioning, rather than a one-time administrative hurdle.
The trend: Crypto platforms are increasingly treating jurisdiction-specific registration as a durable operating requirement while preserving flexibility across international bases.