The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled an ambitious plan to implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry by 2026. Announced on Tuesday, the roadmap outlines critical milestones that will shape the regulation of digital assets in Britain.

Starting this quarter, the FCA plans to issue discussion papers focusing on stablecoin issuance and custody, market abuse prevention, and rules for admission and disclosure. These consultations will pave the way for a detailed review of critical crypto-related activities.

In the first half of 2025, the regulator aims to expand its scope to include policies addressing trading platforms, intermediaries, crypto lending, prudential exposure, and staking rewards offered by firms for token holdings. These developments will culminate in the release of final policy statements and the activation of the full crypto regulatory regime by 2026.

The move comes as crypto adoption in the U.K. continues to grow. According to FCA research, the average value of cryptocurrency holdings among U.K. residents increased from £1,595 in 2022 to £1,842 as of August 2023.

However, the research highlights lingering misconceptions about regulatory oversight. A third of respondents mistakenly believe they could seek financial protection or file complaints with the FCA if they encounter issues in the crypto market.

The FCA’s initiative reflects a proactive stance toward fostering innovation while addressing risks in the rapidly evolving digital asset space.

Thousands of PayPal users were unable to access their accounts or process payments on Thursday due to a brief global outage, the company confirmed.

PayPal acknowledged the issue on its service status page, describing it as “a system issue” that impacted multiple products, including account withdrawals and express checkout. Cryptocurrency services and its peer-to-peer payment app, Venmo, were also affected.

The outage, which began at 10:53 UTC, was resolved swiftly, according to PayPal. Despite the brief duration, the disruption caused significant inconvenience, with users reporting difficulties logging into their accounts and completing transactions.

Downdetector, a platform outage tracker, registered over 7,000 complaints from users by 12:12 GMT. Many customers shared their frustration on social media, posting screenshots of error messages such as “please check your entries and try again” when attempting to log in.

PayPal apologized for the disruption, assuring users that its systems were back to normal.

Founded in 1998, PayPal has grown into a leading global financial institution. The company reported a record 432 million active accounts as of the end of September, cementing its role in the digital payments ecosystem.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed that Google sell its Chrome browser as part of measures to break its dominance in online search. The proposal, included in a court filing on Wednesday, aims to restore competition following a landmark anti-trust ruling in August that found Google illegally suppressed its competitors.

Key Proposals by DOJ

1. Chrome Divestiture: The DOJ suggests Google sell Chrome, the world’s leading web browser, to limit its ability to funnel users to its search engine.
2. End Default Search Agreements: The government seeks to ban Google from contracts with companies like Apple and Samsung that make Google Search the default on their devices.
3. Five-Year Browser Market Ban: Google would be prohibited from re-entering the browser market for five years to allow competition to flourish.

The filing, supported by several U.S. states, argues these steps are necessary to counteract Google’s alleged stifling of competition in general search and search advertising markets.

Google’s Response

Google criticized the DOJ’s proposal as a “radical interventionist agenda,” claiming it would harm both consumers and the broader U.S. technology sector.

• Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, said the plan would “break a range of Google products… that people love and find helpful.”
• Google plans to submit its counter-proposals by December 20.

Impact and Timeline

Judge Amit Mehta is expected to make a final decision by mid-2025. The DOJ’s filing follows revelations that Google controls 90% of global online searches, leveraging its ownership of Chrome and the Android operating system to maintain its dominance.