UK exchanges
What FCA registration does and does not get you.
Crypto firms serving UK customers must register with the FCA under the money laundering regulations. This is worth something — the FCA has refused the large majority of applicants, so registration signals a firm that survived real scrutiny of its systems and controls.
But it is easy to over-read. Registration does not mean the FCA supervises how the firm treats you, does not make the products it sells suitable, and critically does not bring your holdings within the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If the firm fails, there is no £85,000 backstop as there would be with a bank.
Firms are added and removed, and cloned-firm scams copy the details of genuinely registered businesses down to the registration number. The only reliable check is the FCA's own register, and the only safe contact details are the ones published there — not the ones on the website that approached you.
Beyond registration, the things that cost you money over time are rarely on the marketing page. Fee structure matters more than the headline rate — spread often exceeds commission, and “zero fee” usually means the spread is doing the work. GBP deposit method decides how quickly you can move: Faster Payments is free and instant, card deposits carry a percentage fee.
Then withdrawal: whether you can move coins to your own wallet at all, and what that costs. An exchange that makes withdrawal awkward is one you cannot leave. And exportable transaction history in a format your tax software reads, which sounds dull until January.
CryptoGrid takes no exchange referrals and lists no recommendations. Under UK rules, promoting a cryptoasset firm to consumers is a regulated financial promotion — so we describe how to evaluate them and point you at the official register instead.