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
Context & Ripple Effects
Blockchain.com’s return to the FCA registry reverses a 2022 retreat, when the company withdrew its application and moved operations toward Lithuania. It comes after an earlier UK registration process in which the FCA had approved only 27 of more than 100 applicants, underscoring how consequential registry access was for crypto firms seeking to serve the market.
The decision also extends a compliance path already used by rivals: the FCA had previously registered Crypto.com for certain crypto-asset activities. Blockchain.com’s registry entry therefore reconnects it to a UK framework from which it had stepped back.
First-order effects
- Blockchain.com can now operate as a registered crypto company in the UK framework, replacing the practical limitation created by its withdrawn 2022 application.
- The company must align its UK-facing activity with FCA registration requirements, while its Lithuania-oriented operating setup may need to coexist with a renewed UK compliance presence.
Second-order effects
- Blockchain.com’s re-entry increases pressure on UK-serving crypto platforms to secure or retain FCA registration rather than rely solely on offshore or other European operating bases.
- The move makes regulatory status a more visible competitive differentiator, following the FCA’s earlier selective approval of crypto-company applicants and Crypto.com’s registration.
Third-order effects
- If more firms return to national registries after operating elsewhere in Europe, crypto market access is likely to remain segmented by jurisdictional permissions rather than consolidated around a single operating base.
- That fragmentation can favor firms able to maintain parallel compliance operations, while raising barriers for smaller platforms; the extent depends on how consistently regulators enforce local registration.
The trend: Crypto platforms are increasingly treating jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction authorization as a core operating requirement, reinforcing regulated liquidity fragmentation.