Ctrl Alt has secured direct authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to expand its tokenised asset and digital capital markets services.
The authorisation places Ctrl Alt Ltd on the FCA's register under the UK framework for investment firms. Previously, the firm operated as an Appointed Representative, meaning it conducted regulated activities under the permissions of another authorised entity. The move to direct authorisation gives Ctrl Alt full regulatory independence and the ability to oversee its own compliance obligations.
Scope of regulated activity
Under the FCA's framework, the authorisation allows Ctrl Alt to extend its digital capital markets services, covering the end-to-end lifecycle of tokenised assets. This includes the issuance, trading, and settlement of securities built on its tokenisation infrastructure. The firm also works with governments, financial institutions, regulators, and other market participants in supporting the adoption of tokenised markets.
The development coincides with Ctrl Alt's participation in two Bank of England-led initiatives. Within the Digital Securities Sandbox, the firm is exploring how its infrastructure can be applied to securities issuance, trading, and settlement. Separately, through the Synchronisation Lab, Ctrl Alt is testing synchronisation capabilities with the Bank of England's renewed real-time gross settlement service. Both programmes form part of the UK's broader effort to assess the viability of digital securities infrastructure within the regulated financial system.
A company official noted that the authorisation supports the firm's aim of strengthening London's position as a centre for digital capital markets activity, at a time when some UK-based firms have been relocating operations abroad.
UK regulatory context
The FCA authorisation is part of a wider regulatory environment in which the UK has been moving to accommodate digital assets and tokenised securities within its existing supervisory framework. Sandboxes and regulatory pilots have become a key mechanism for testing new market infrastructure, allowing firms to engage with regulators before wider deployment.
For Ctrl Alt, operating under its own FCA permissions (rather than through an appointed representative arrangement) provides a clearer regulatory basis for scaling its services and engaging institutional counterparties that require direct authorisation as a condition of doing business. The firm's involvement in Bank of England programmes further signals its position within the UK's regulated financial ecosystem.
