The Perimeter Read

This diagnostic draws on two sources at different stages. The underlying law is made: the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/102, made 4 February 2026) insert the art. 88F / 88G asset-classification limbs and the regulated-activity articles into the Regulated Activities Order 2001, with commencement staged. The guidance is proposed: the PERG 19 cross-references are drawn from FCA Consultation Paper CP26/13 (April 2026), on which final guidance is expected in September 2026. Where the two are cited together, the RAO article is the operative source and PERG 19 is navigational.

Pending legislation. A draft statutory instrument published by HM Treasury on 21 April 2026 proposes removing UK-issued qualifying stablecoins from the dealing (as principal and as agent) and arranging-deals activities, while keeping lending and borrowing in scope. The consultation closed on 22 May 2026 and the instrument has not been made; treatment depends on the legislation as in force. This tool does not model the proposed exclusion.

FCA application-form taxonomy. The permission-set output renders each activity in the taxonomy used by the FCA application builder — activity type › regulated activity — per Information about the authorisation application form for cryptoasset firms (8 July 2026): activity types p.5, regulated activities p.6. The form does not move the statutory perimeter and is explicitly illustrative and being finalised; the mapping is a reconstruction, not the FCA’s own. The A1–A9 codes remain canonical internally.

The new regime introduces 8 regulated cryptoasset activities (A5 — the 9Y(2) "with a view" arm — is intentionally merged into A4, which covers all of art. 9Y arranging deals):

• A1 — Operating a QCATP (art. 9S) — PMR £150,000
• A2 — Dealing as principal (art. 9T) — PMR £750,000
• A3 — Dealing as agent (art. 9W) — PMR £75,000
• A4 — Arranging deals in QCAs (art. 9Y — both 9Y(1) causative and 9Y(2) with a view) — PMR £75,000
• A6 — Safeguarding cryptoassets (art. 9N(1)(a)) — PMR £150,000
• A7 — Arranging cryptoasset safeguarding (art. 9N(1)(b)) — PMR £150,000: no separate row in the CRYPTOPRU 4.2.1R table; the safeguarding row applies to both art. 9N limbs, the arranger retaining responsibility for safeguarding
• A8 — Arranging qualifying cryptoasset staking (art. 9Z6) — PMR £150,000
• A9 — Issuing qualifying stablecoins (art. 9M) — PMR £350,000

Questions Q1–Q8 follow the art. 88F / 88G cascade:

• Q1–Q4: s.417 FSMA gateway (cryptographically secured, fungible, transferable, asset in own right)
• Q5: Art. 88F(4)(b)–(d) exclusion limbs, tested individually — (b) electronic money, including tokenised e-money; (c) currency of the United Kingdom or any other country or territory, including a central bank digital currency; (d) the limited-network / closed-loop limb, where the asset is redeemable only with the issuer and usable only for goods or services from the issuer or within a limited network of providers holding direct commercial agreements with the issuer (a cumulative test of art. 88F(4)(d)(i) and (ii)); or none of these. Limbs pinned to art. 88F as inserted by reg. 40(11) of SI 2026/102. Does not test the art. 88F(4)(a) specified-investment-cryptoasset exclusion — that is Q6.
• Q6: Specified investment cryptoasset (SIC) test — a cryptoasset that is itself a specified investment under Part 3 RAO (other than art. 74A e-money or art. 88F), defined in art. 3 RAO (reg. 40(2), SI 2026/102) and excluded from qualifying-cryptoasset status by art. 88F(4)(a). SIC if Yes.
• Q7: RSIC test (SIC that is a security or CBI) — RSICs are the subset of SICs inside the new regime, through safeguarding only (art. 9N)
• Q8: Qualifying stablecoin test (single fiat reference + backing assets)

The subset structure. A cryptoasset (s.417 FSMA) resolves into one of two non-overlapping families: qualifying cryptoassets (QCAs), of which qualifying stablecoins are a subset, and specified investment cryptoassets (SICs), of which relevant SICs (RSICs) are a subset. Both families reach the new regime — QCAs across all eight activities; RSICs through safeguarding only (art. 9N; explanatory memorandum to SI 2026/102, echoed in draft PERG 2.6, CP26/13). A SIC that is not an RSIC sits entirely with the traditional elements of the perimeter (PERG 2).

Test case: Q1–Q8 all Yes, Q5=None, Q6=No, Q8=No → Qualifying Cryptoasset (QCA). Q5=None means no carve-out applies; Q6=No means not a specified investment; Q8=No means not a stablecoin → plain QCA.

Questions Q18–Q20 assess whether the UK territorial perimeter (s.418 FSMA) is engaged. For overseas firms (Q18=No): the s.418(6C) deeming test applies where the firm serves UK consumers. An authorised principal-dealer or QCATP operator interposed (Q20=Yes) may disapply the deeming — but an authorised arranger or agent does NOT (PERG 19.3.1(6)).

This tool is a navigational aid. The RAO articles it applies are made law (SI 2026/102, made 4 February 2026; commencement staged); the PERG 19 cross-references are proposed guidance (CP26/13, April 2026), on which final guidance is expected in September 2026. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for proper regulatory analysis. Perimeter analysis is fact-specific. Output is contingent on accuracy of inputs.

Produced by the team at cryptopru.com — cryptopru.com · Palvinder Gill