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Starting January 2026, every Bitcoin purchase, Ethereum swap, and crypto transfer in the UK will be tracked, reported, and linked to your home address, tax ID, and full legal name. The UK government will fine firms £300 per user if they fail to gather and report this data.
“You may want to start collecting information earlier, so that you are ready when the new rules come into force,” HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stated in guidance released May 14.
The new mandate requires platforms to gather names, addresses, and tax identification numbers for all users, plus details on every transaction. The rule applies to both UK-based firms and foreign exchanges serving UK customers.
The UK is following the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF) created by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. This framework helps countries share information about crypto users for tax purposes.
For individual users, platforms must document full names, birth dates, home addresses, and either National Insurance numbers or Unique Taxpayer References for UK residents. Non-UK residents must provide their tax identification numbers and the issuing country.
Business entities face similar requirements. Companies, trusts, and charities trading crypto must share their legal names, addresses, registration numbers, and controlling person details.
Each transaction record must show what cryptocurrency was used, how much was traded, its value, and the type of transaction.
This change marks a big shift for crypto, an industry that first attracted users by offering privacy from traditional banking oversight. Many crypto companies will need to rebuild their computer systems to handle all this new information. This creates technical challenges for platforms that weren’t designed for this level of tracking.
“Britain is open for business — but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves when introducing related legislation in April.
The UK’s approach differs from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The UK will allow foreign stablecoin companies to operate without registering and won’t limit transaction volumes. This might attract certain crypto businesses despite the stricter reporting rules.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) already keeps tight control over crypto companies. It rejected 75% of applications from firms wanting to operate in the UK this year – an improvement from 86% rejected last year.
These rules will affect more Britons each year. A recent YouGov survey found 14% of UK adults owned cryptocurrency in 2023, up from just 6% in 2022.
Crypto companies now face a race to update their systems before the 2026 deadline while trying to keep their services competitive in a fast-changing market.
