From FCA to Binance: Nish Patel on UK Rules, Institutional Appetite, and New Products

Binance’s UK director, Nish Patel, says Britain is on the cusp of a comprehensive crypto framework that will clarify life for retail users and widen the toolkit for professional investors.

In an interview with CryptoNews, Patel—formerly the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) first in-house crypto asset specialist—outlines how the rulebook is evolving and how Binance is positioning itself as the UK moves from patchwork guidance to a fuller regime.

Patel’s regulatory résumé is unusual for a crypto exchange executive. At the FCA, he helped “upskill” staff on tracing transactions and the mechanics of Bitcoin, and worked on expanding the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) perimeter to capture crypto firms.

He also assisted early authorisations, including the gateway that allowed the first UK crypto-asset firm approvals. That vantage point now shapes how he reads the UK’s trajectory now.

A Two-Track Rulebook: Retail vs Professional

The biggest change so far is the financial promotions regime that took effect in October 2023. In practice, it draws a bright line between retail and professional audiences: strict marketing limits and consumer protections for the former; far fewer constraints for the latter.

Amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) are moving in parallel through consultations and discussion papers.

Patel expects that process to culminate within the next 12 months in what he calls a comprehensive “UK version of MiCA”—not identical to the EU’s package, but comparable in scope because the UK is choosing to amend existing statutes rather than pass a single omnibus law.

“We’re focused on proactively working with the regulator. Frameworks in the UK are becoming clearer, and we’re progressively opening up — as shown by our recent announcement for UK professional investors,”said Patel.

“Professional investors have access to more opportunities than retail consumers, and to be clear, the upcoming UK regime will apply only to retail consumers,” adds Patel.

Binance’s UK Playbook: License-First, Pros-First

Patel characterises Binance’s approach as license-first wherever rules are clear, pointing to the company’s global roster of regulated venues and to leadership experience in jurisdictions that wrote early crypto frameworks. The UK, he says, is now moving onto that list.

The promotion regime remains “very strict” for retail clients, he notes, because the FCA views them as most exposed to harm. Professional investors—institutions and high-net-worth clients who can evidence expertise and resources—aren’t subject to the same marketing constraints, which leaves room for more complex products. That is the lane Binance is using in the UK for now.

Institutions, Staking—and the 12–24 Month Outlook

On the institutional side, Patel explains that the UK retains deep trading talent even as some holding companies sit offshore for tax reasons. He also draws a sharp distinction with the EU: MiCA’s treatment of stablecoins and its preference for segregated order books are pushing some institutions to restructure.

By contrast, UK policymakers have signalled they want domestic institutions to retain access to global order books to ensure best pricing. That, Patel contends, is making the UK more attractive to professional investors looking for execution quality.

Staking—so contentious in the United States—is one place the UK has already moved to clarify. Patel cites a January 8, 2025 order from HM Treasury that exempted staking from the Collective Investment Schemes Order.

In effect, that removed a major legal ambiguity and enabled broader availability of staking services to professionals, with retail to follow only if and when firms obtain the right permissions under the coming regime.

Binance’s own staking footprint, he says, is sizable: Binance’s Ethereum liquid staking token, WBETH, commands 20% of the global liquid staking market — representing over $9 billion in value. Circulating supply has surged 18% in the past month, the fastest growth among major providers.

On Solana, BNSOL — Binance’s fully in-house liquid staking token — is now the second-largest SOL LST globally, with around $1 billion in TVL and over 150,000 Earn users. (Figures were provided by the company.)

Looking ahead 12 to 24 months, Patel expects three shifts. First, a full UK crypto regime “as comprehensive—or more so—than MiCA,” potentially including the regulation of crypto lending, which he notes is outside the EU package.

Second, continued expansion of products available to qualifying professional users, because the policy intent and eligibility tests for that segment are already defined. Third, overdue clarity for retail: a long-standing framework spelling out what can be offered, how it can be promoted, and what disclosures and safeguards must accompany it.

Patel explains the UK was not a first mover, adopting a more conservative, stepwise approach that has tracked developments in the United States.

But he argues the second-mover path is now accelerating as the government and regulator crystallise consumer-protection priorities while trying to keep institutional market plumbing competitive.

For retail users, the near-term reality is stricter promotions, more warnings, and fewer products until the new regime lands. For professional investors, the opposite is true: more access and optionality, provided they meet the tests. Exchanges will have to live in both worlds at once, aligning licensing and product design to each audience.

That, in essence, is Binance’s bet in Britain: build for professionals now, prepare for retail later, and match the cadence of a regulator that is finally writing the chapter it deferred for years.