Crypto exchange licences by region

The licence an exchange holds in one region tells you little about whether it can serve you in another. Coverage is built region by region.

Quick answer

A crypto exchange is licensed region by region, not once for the world. As of February 2026 the European Union grants a single authorisation under the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation that passports across the bloc. The United States requires federal registration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network plus money transmitter licences in each state where the platform operates. The United Kingdom requires registration with the Financial Conduct Authority and is moving to a fuller conduct regime due in 2027. Across Asia Pacific, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong each license through their own authorities, and in the Gulf, Dubai and Abu Dhabi run separate frameworks. Because none of these reaches across borders, a global platform holds a stack of licences, and its availability in your country depends on which of them it actually holds.

European Union: one authorisation, passported

The European Union is the simplest region to describe because it is unified. As of February 2026 a crypto asset service provider authorised under the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation in one member state can passport its services across the European Economic Area, so a single authorisation covers the whole bloc. National authorities grant and supervise the licence, coordinated by the European Securities and Markets Authority. Firms that operated under older national regimes had an optional transitional window, set by each member state, which closes on 1 July 2026, after which full authorisation is required. For users, this means a platform authorised in the European Union should be able to serve customers across member states, though it still chooses which markets to enter and which products to offer.

United States: federal registration plus state licences

The United States is the most fragmented major market. As of February 2026 an exchange registers federally with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as a money services business and separately holds money transmitter licences in each state where it serves customers, which is why a platform may be available in some states and not others. Depending on the products it offers, it may also fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The GENIUS Act of 2025 added federal rules for payment stablecoins, and a broader market structure bill was before the Senate. The practical takeaway is that United States availability is granular: a platform's coverage depends on its state licences, not on a single national permit.

United Kingdom and the rest of Europe outside the bloc

The United Kingdom sits outside the European Union regime and runs its own. As of February 2026 an exchange serving United Kingdom customers must be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the money laundering regulations, and a broader conduct regime, covering activities such as operating a trading platform and custody, had been made and is expected to take effect in 2027. Other European countries outside the bloc, such as Switzerland, run their own licensing under their own regulators. So within Europe there are effectively several regimes: the single European Union framework, the United Kingdom system in transition, and separate national regimes in non member states. A platform must satisfy whichever applies to the customer it wants to serve.

Asia Pacific and the Gulf

The Asia Pacific and Gulf regions are a set of distinct national regimes. As of February 2026 Singapore licenses digital token and digital payment token services through the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Payment Services Act, with expanded rules for providers operating from Singapore. Japan registers crypto asset exchange service providers with the Financial Services Agency. Hong Kong licenses virtual asset trading platforms through the Securities and Futures Commission, with a separate stablecoin regime under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. In the Gulf, Dubai licenses through the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and Abu Dhabi through its free zone regulator. Each grants its own licence and supervises closely, so an exchange active across the region typically holds two or three of these rather than relying on any single one.

Regulator and sources

Each region names its own regulators above. The descriptions draw on the official frameworks and primary regulators rather than secondary summaries, reviewed as of February 2026. Where a regime is still being implemented, such as the United Kingdom conduct rules, we describe it as registration now with a fuller regime due rather than fully in force.

• European Securities and Markets Authority, Markets in Crypto Assets regulation pages (esma.europa.eu)
• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and state regulators, money services business and money transmitter guidance
• Financial Conduct Authority, cryptoasset registration and the new regime pages (fca.org.uk)
• Monetary Authority of Singapore, Financial Services Agency of Japan, and Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong
• Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority of Dubai and Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority

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