The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has carried out its first coordinated enforcement operation targeting illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading, part of its efforts to tackle financial crime linked to digital assets.

Working alongside HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, the regulator targeted eight locations across London suspected of facilitating unregistered crypto trading activity.

Investigators issued cease-and-desist notices at each site, ordering operators to halt activity immediately, while evidence gathered during inspections is now feeding into ongoing criminal investigations.

Peer-to-peer crypto trading allows individuals to buy and sell digital assets directly, bypassing centralised exchanges. In the UK, this activity requires registration under anti-money laundering regulations. The FCA confirmed that no peer-to-peer crypto traders or platforms currently hold registration in the country.

The action forms part of a broader regulatory push to tighten oversight of the crypto sector. The FCA has previously prosecuted operators of illegal crypto ATMs and, in 2024, worked with the Metropolitan Police to arrest individuals suspected of running an unauthorised crypto exchange.

The regulator said the UK government’s risk assessments have identified cryptoassets as an increasingly common tool for money laundering and financial crime, which has led to increased collaboration between regulators and enforcement agencies.

“Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the UK are doing so illegally and pose a financial crime risk,” said Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA. “We will use our powers and work with partners to disrupt them.

“Consumers should protect themselves by only dealing with firms registered with the FCA and by remembering that crypto remains a high risk investment.”

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