You’re building on-chain in the United Kingdom. Whether what you issue counts as a financial product decides most of what follows.
Information, not advice
This page is information, not legal advice about your matter. A retainer begins only when a lawyer confirms it.
Start here
Work out what your asset legally is, first
Licensing, marketing, custody and tax all follow from that answer. Settling it after the product is built is what forces a rebuild.
What to work through, in order
Characterising the asset
Whether the asset is a specified investment, e-money, or an unregulated token that is still caught by the cryptoasset promotions regime. The three outcomes lead to very different obligations.
Custody and who holds the keys
Custody of cryptoassets is a registrable activity under the Money Laundering Regulations, and safeguarding expectations follow from how client assets are segregated and recorded.
Tax treatment
HMRC’s cryptoassets manual distinguishes capital from trading treatment, and separately addresses staking rewards, airdrops and DeFi lending, where the position is more contested.
Next steps
What happens if you go ahead
Scoping call
Written scope and fixed-fee quote
Engagement, once a lawyer confirms
Who would handle it
Offices
London
25 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AL