Capital.com Appears to Be Making a Move for the UK's Crypto Market

Capital.com is making a push into the UK crypto market by hiring a Head of Risk for Capital Vault UK (CVUK). A LinkedIn job post describes CVUK as the FCA-registered crypto business for the Capital Vault Group. However, the firm does not currently appear on the FCA’s public register, which lists around 60 registered businesses.

In the UK, crypto firms are still governed by the FCA’s Anti-Money Laundering regulations, though a comprehensive licensing framework, which will be folded into the FSMA rules, will take effect in October 2027.

It remains unclear whether CVUK’s absence from the existing list means it has not yet registered or is simply waiting for a public update.

Nonetheless, Capital.com's crypto ambitions are already taking shape elsewhere.

It has already secured MiCA crypto approval for European passporting under CySEC, while its UAE unit obtained a licence to offer trading and secure storage for clients in the Emirates.

A Half-Way House No More

The broker is hardly alone in eyeing Britain’s crypto users. Robinhood U.K. Ltd was added to the FCA’s crypto register in July under the Money Laundering Regulations, and a few weeks later, launched crypto trading for UK customers via Bitstamp.

While the broader MLR register permits approved firms to operate exchanges and provide custody, Robinhood U.K. Ltd's specific registration restricts the firm to arranging deals.

It does not permit Robinhood to offer custody, run an exchange, or hold client money natively, a patchwork of permissions that the 2027 framework intends to wipe clean, creating a UK-based licensing matrix for crypto services.

The timing of Capital.com’s push is also no accident. The FCA’s authorisation gateway for the new FSMA crypto regime opens on 30 September 2026, giving firms a five‑month window to apply if they want to benefit from transitional arrangements; the current MLR registrations will not automatically convert into FSMA authorisations.

The deadline for those applications is 28 February 2027.

A Tough Nut to Crack?

Breaking into the UK will also mean going up against entrenched players with deep distribution.

Revolut, for example, can cross‑sell crypto to 13 million UK customers already embedded in its super‑app, while established names such as eToro sit comfortably on the FCA’s crypto register.

Capital Vault’s MiCA passport and UAE licence give it a solid platform for Europe and the Gulf, but the UK leg of that strategy might be a tougher nut to crack.