UK Crypto Cooling-Off Period: The 24-Hour Wait, Risk Warning and Appropriateness Test

Under UK rules, the UK crypto cooling-off period is a wait of at least 24 hours the first time an app shows you the screen that lets you buy cryptocurrency. The wait comes with a risk warning that uses your name, an investor declaration and a test, so a countdown or a test lockout is usually one of these rules, not a fault with your account. The rule says the firm "allows a period of at least 24 hours (the ‘cooling off period’) to elapse" and then asks whether you want to leave or continue (opens in a new tab). Anyone who urges you to rush these steps, or offers you test answers, is a warning sign.

The UK sign-up checks in order

As of October 2026, a first-time customer of a crypto firm serving UK customers meets these four checks. The rules fix only that the risk warning comes before the declaration and the test. FCA guidance (opens in a new tab) lets a firm give the warning and collect test information during the wait, so apps may show the screens in a different order.

A "direct offer financial promotion" is the FCA's term (opens in a new tab) for an offer that lets you respond and invest, for example one with a "buy now" button or a form asking for your bank details. In an app, that is the screen that lets you buy. Identity checks are a separate step (see crypto KYC verification), and the firm's registration is something you check yourself (see the registration check).

How the crypto 24-hour cooling-off period works

As of October 2026, the Handbook rule (opens in a new tab) says the firm must let at least 24 hours pass after your request to see the buy screen. Then it must invite you to leave or continue. The FCA describes (opens in a new tab) the wait as time to reflect before you decide whether to buy.

Under the rule, the clock runs from your request to see the buy screen, and apps place that request at different points in sign-up. IG says (opens in a new tab) on its UK help page (September 2026) that its countdown begins as soon as your IG crypto account is created. If your app shows a countdown, check the end time there or in its help page.

For the cryptocurrency cooling-off period, 24 hours is a minimum. A firm may make the wait longer, and the rule gives no way to shorten it. IG says its wait cannot be sped up, and that during it you can view crypto assets and token details but cannot trade.

At the end, the app must offer a choice to leave or continue, with equal prominence. In the FCA's 2024 review of a sample of firms, all had a 24-hour wait, but several did not offer an express choice or did not give both options equal prominence. If one option is missing or hidden, ask support before you go on.

Under the FCA's guidance, the wait is required only the first time a firm shows you a buy offer, and not for each transaction (opens in a new tab). A firm could still add waits of its own. An app run by a different firm counts as new, so expect its own wait there.

While you wait, read the app's fee page and check the legal entity's registration. That uses the time on checks you would do anyway.

The FCA crypto risk warning with your name

As of October 2026, the rule (opens in a new tab) requires a pop-up (or equivalent) that begins with your name: "[Client name], this is a high-risk investment. How would you feel if you lost the money you’re about to invest? Take 2 mins to learn more." That last line links to a risk summary in a further pop-up. Open it and read it before you continue.

The FCA tells consumers that if they make crypto-related investments they are unlikely to have access (opens in a new tab) to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if something goes wrong.

The warning must come before the declaration and the test. In its 2024 review (opens in a new tab), the FCA found one firm that showed it after categorization and the test, and said this wrongly combined separate requirements. If your app shows the named warning only at the very end, ask support why.

The investor declaration and the 10% question

As of October 2026, the FCA (opens in a new tab) says firms must take reasonable steps to establish that you are a Restricted, High Net Worth or Certified Sophisticated investor. You sign a declaration that you meet the criteria for one category and say why.

• Restricted: the FCA's 2023 statement (opens in a new tab) says you should not invest more than 10% of your net assets in high-risk investments. That version asks you to confirm you invested less than 10% in the past twelve months and intend to stay under it in the next twelve.
• High Net Worth: you declare that you meet that category's criteria. Read them before you sign.
• Certified Sophisticated: you confirm you received a certificate of sophistication from an FCA-authorized firm within the last 3 years. Firms do not have to offer this category.

"Net assets" means what you own minus what you owe. In the Restricted statement, your home, your pension (or pension withdrawals) and rights under qualifying insurance contracts do not count.

Answer with your real figures. Firms must not influence your answers, or encourage you to complete another declaration when the first shows you do not qualify. The 2024 review found some screens that warned people when a figure fell outside the chosen category and encouraged them to change it to fit. Do not change a true figure to get through.

The crypto appropriateness test and the 24-hour lockout

As of October 2026, FCA guidance (opens in a new tab) says firms should consider asking questions that cover at least twelve topics. They include that you can lose all the money you invest, how volatile crypto is, how complex it is, what happens if the business fails, whether you can sell when you want, and the extent of FSCS and FOS protection.

The test exists because a firm that sells you crypto may process your order only once it has assessed that the investment is appropriate for you. It is meant to let you invest only in what you have the knowledge and experience to understand. In its 2024 review (opens in a new tab), the FCA found some firms' tests had features that steer people toward the "correct" answer, and said such tests would not adequately assess appropriateness.

After your second failed assessment, the rule (opens in a new tab) says any further assessment "must not be undertaken for at least 24 hours". That applies after each later fail too. In the 2024 review, most firms used longer lockouts for repeat fails, and few told people before they started. IG UK gives (opens in a new tab) two attempts before a 24-hour wait, and says a third fail means you cannot open an IG crypto account.

Example with made-up details

This timeline is invented, names no platform and uses no money. A real app may order the steps differently or add waits.

• Monday, 7 pm: you ask to see the buy screen. The 24-hour wait starts, under the cooling-off rule.
• Monday, 7:10 pm: a pop-up with your name appears and you open the risk summary. You sign the Restricted declaration.
• Tuesday, 7 pm: the wait is over. The app asks you to leave or continue, and you continue.
• Tuesday, 7:15 pm: you fail the test twice. The second fail starts a lockout of at least 24 hours, under the failed-test rule.
• Wednesday, 7:30 pm: you retry with new questions and pass, and the app shows the buy screen.

Two clocks ran here, one from your request to see the buy screen and one from your second failed test, and neither could be shortened.

After the wait: what comes next

Once you continue and pass, and you have confirmed the firm's registration, you can fund the account and place an order. The buying steps are in how to buy crypto, and bank transfers covers paying that way.

FCA guidance (opens in a new tab) says a firm should consider reassessing you with the test, for example after time passes. The firm must also ask for a new declaration before it shows you another buy offer once the old one expires.

Common misconceptions

As of October 2026, these three ideas about the checks are wrong:

• "The wait means my account is flagged." The rules require the wait the first time a firm shows you a buy offer, so a wait alone does not point to a problem. If the app shows an error or lock message you do not recognize, ask support.
• "An app that skips these steps is better." The FCA says firms marketing crypto to UK consumers, including overseas firms (opens in a new tab), had to follow the UK financial promotions regime from 8 October 2023 (firms could delay (opens in a new tab) the back-end steps until January 2024). A missing step is a reason to check the firm, as in country rules that change availability.
• "Passing the test means the FCA approved my purchase." It does not. The firm makes the assessment, and it does not change that you could lose money.

Risks and what may change

As of October 2026:

• If you invest in crypto, the FCA says (opens in a new tab) you should be prepared to lose all your money.
• Someone who pushes you to skip the wait or offers answers is a reason to stop and check: see crypto scam warning signs.
• The FCA expects the new UK regime for crypto firms to start on 25 October 2027 (opens in a new tab).

Before you fund the account, read the buying steps for what to check on the deposit and order screens.