FCA raids three London premises running unregistered crypto peer-to-peer trading operations

The UK Financial Conduct Authority raided three London properties suspected of running unregistered peer-to-peer crypto trading operations, part of a widening crackdown that runs alongside the regulator’s own push to license legitimate crypto firms by the end of September. The action shows the FCA drawing a sharper line between businesses it wants to bring into its new authorisation regime and those operating entirely outside it.

• The FCA, HM Revenue & Customs and the Metropolitan Police Service targeted three premises on September 10.
• Cease and desist letters were issued at all three locations, ordering traders to stop suspected illegal crypto businesses.
• There are currently zero FCA-registered peer-to-peer crypto businesses operating in the UK, the regulator says.

• 3 London premises inspected versus zero registered P2P crypto firms nationwide
• Sep 10 date of the raid, one week before the FCA published details

The Financial Conduct Authority inspected three commercial premises in London on Thursday, September 10, working alongside HMRC and the Metropolitan Police Service, according to a press release the regulator published on September 17. Investigators issued cease and desist letters at each site and gathered intelligence for potential follow-on enforcement, according to reporting by NewsBTC.

Peer-to-peer trading lets individuals buy and sell crypto directly with one another, but doing so as a business in the UK requires FCA registration. The regulator says no P2P crypto business currently holds that registration.

Zero registered P2P firms means every one is unauthorised

The FCA’s disclosure that no peer-to-peer crypto business is currently registered in the UK effectively means every such operation is, by definition, outside the rules. The regulator argues that unregistered P2P trading creates a route for criminals to move and launder illicit funds by avoiding the anti-money-laundering controls built into the registration regime.

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.

Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight, FCA

Detective Sergeant Sathish Alalasundaram of the Metropolitan Police Service said the speed at which crypto funds move across jurisdictions creates ongoing challenges for investigators, and that the force is adapting its capabilities to keep pace with criminals.

September raid feeds ongoing cases

The FCA also points to a broader enforcement record, including prosecuting the operator of an unlawful crypto ATM network and supporting the arrest of two individuals suspected of running an illegal crypto exchange. The September action was carried out under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.

Licensing gateway opens as Enforcement tightens

The timing lines up with a separate shift in UK crypto policy. The FCA’s new authorisation gateway for crypto firms opens at the end of September, giving companies a formal route to operate under the incoming regime. Until then, crypto remains a high-risk investment that is largely unregulated in the UK except for anti-money-laundering and financial promotion rules.

The September raid targeted unregistered P2P operations, not licensed UK exchanges, so the action does not signal a broader crackdown on mainstream, authorised crypto trading. The Metropolitan Police Service’s account of investigative challenges is the only law enforcement perspective in the FCA’s release; no unregistered trader named in the operation has commented publicly.

The BlockWest read. For firms weighing whether to seek authorisation once the gateway opens, this raid is a signal that staying unregistered carries real operational risk, not just theoretical exposure. Compliant exchanges gain an argument for why licensing costs are worth bearing: competitors who skip registration now face police and tax authority attention, not just regulatory letters.

Consumers can verify a firm’s registration status using the FCA’s Firm Checker tool, while the regulator’s authorisation gateway for crypto businesses is set to open at the end of September, a date that will test whether enforcement pressure pushes more P2P operators into the formal system.

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