Robinhood Markets won UK crypto approval on July 31. The surprise is everything the approval does not allow.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added Robinhood U.K. Ltd to its crypto register. The company may pass customer orders to other firms. It cannot hold anyone’s coins.

What the FCA actually approved

Robinhood has been an FCA-approved stockbroker in Britain since August 2019. Crypto is new ground. The regulator added it to the crypto register on July 31, 2026.

Two limits took effect the same day, with the first one mattering most:

• Robinhood UK may only arrange crypto trades.

In plain terms, it takes your order and hands it to someone else to finish.

UK crypto rules cover two other jobs. One is running an exchange. The other is holding coins for customers. Robinhood got neither.

• The second limit bans crypto cash machines unless the FCA agrees in writing.

The register also says the firm cannot hold client money. Even this much is hard to win. FCA figures show 291 firms applied between January 2020 and October 2022. Only 38 made the register. Another 155 gave up before a decision.

One point matters for customers. Being on the register is not a safety net. The FCA warns that crypto services are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.

Britain’s compensation scheme rarely covers crypto losses. The financial ombudsman usually cannot help either.

Rivals Got There First, With More Freedom

Robinhood is late. The register opened in 2020.

Kraken’s UK arm, Coinbase, and Revolut are all on it. Several also hold e-money licences, which let them handle customer cash. Robinhood UK does not.

It already owns one company on the list. Bitstamp UK Ltd joined years earlier, and Robinhood bought its parent for $224 million in June 2025.

That makes Bitstamp the obvious place for UK orders to land.

Robinhood has also tried and failed here before. It agreed to buy British crypto app Ziglu in April 2022. Ten months later it walked away. The $12 million it had already sent Ziglu was written off.

So the new approval looks like housekeeping rather than a launch. Robinhood told investors in July it plans to start UK crypto soon.

Its own small print still says UK customers get no crypto trading or custody. Elsewhere the company keeps building, including its Robinhood Chain public testnet.

Why October 2027 Decides What Survives

This approval is temporary. Tougher UK crypto rules start on October 25, 2027.

Every firm on today’s register must apply again. Nothing carries over.

The window is five months long. Firms that miss it must stop most crypto work. The FCA has warned that today’s registration counts for nothing at that stage.

That deadline has driven Britain’s crypto policy debate all year, alongside UK stablecoin payment plans.

For investors, any reward is years away. Crypto revenue fell 38% to $100 million in Robinhood’s second quarter. Total revenue still hit a record $1.31 billion.

The market shrugged on Monday. HOOD closed Friday at $86.56, then traded at $87.22 before the bell, up 0.76%. Its 52-week high is $153.86.

The real test comes with that 2027 application. Robinhood sells trading, custody, and staking across Europe. An arranging license supports none of it.

What the company asks for will show how serious it is about Britain.

Source: BeInCrypto