Guide
FPO exemptions for cryptoassets: what still works
Updated
Most of what people reach for first is unavailable here. It is worth knowing which door is shut before you walk into it.
Article 73ZA, the registered business exemption
Article 73ZA disapplies the financial promotion restriction for any communication relating only to one or more qualifying cryptoassets which is communicated by a registered person, or on behalf of a registered person provided the communication is non-real time and the registered person prepared the content.
A registered person means a cryptoasset exchange provider or custodian wallet provider as defined in regulation 14A of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, included on the FCA's register under regulation 54(1A), and not an authorised person. The exemption falls away where the communication breaches a requirement imposed under section 55L FSMA or a direction under section 137S.
What does not apply
- Article 48, certified high net worth individual: the FCA states in PS23/6 paragraph 1.17 that this does not apply to cryptoasset promotions, because it only covers a specific set of controlled investments, broadly those related to unlisted securities.
- Article 50A, self-certified sophisticated investor: same position, and the FCA's own rules match it, with COBS 4.12A.21R(2) offering the self-certified category only for non-readily realisable securities, P2P and long-term asset fund units.
- Article 51, associations of high net worth or sophisticated investors: expressly disapplied to cryptoassets by the government.
- Article 61, sale of goods and supply of services: expressly disapplied to cryptoassets by the government.
Other exemptions in the Order apply on their existing terms, and the FCA said so in PS23/6 paragraph 1.17. That is not permission to assume: each exemption has conditions, they must be satisfied for every communication, and the person relying on one has to be able to show it afterwards.
What is changing, and when
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/102) will omit article 73ZA as part of bringing cryptoasset activities into the regulated perimeter, alongside a new definition of qualifying cryptoasset drawn from the Regulated Activities Order.
The timing matters more than the change. Regulation 1(2) sets the full commencement day at 25 October 2027. Regulation 1(3) brought the Regulations into force earlier, on 25 February 2026, only for preparatory purposes: enabling the FCA to make rules, give guidance and directions, and enabling applications for permissions to be made and determined. The omission of article 73ZA is not in force for general purposes today, so route 3 remains available as at this page's updated date. Firms relying on it should be planning for authorisation now, because applications open before the route closes.
This is the single most likely thing on this site to go stale. Check the article 73ZA page on legislation.gov.uk, which carries the amendment annotations, before relying on it.