Crypto on UK Exchanges: FBAR, FATCA and the New HMRC Reporting Rules

On the current FinCEN position, crypto FBAR reporting does not reach crypto held at a UK exchange, as long as the account holds only virtual currency. That is the FinCEN Notice 2020-2 position, still the latest we could find on 28 October 2026. It is not the whole answer for a UK-resident American: the Form 8938 treatment is unsettled, the Form 1040 digital asset question still applies, and from 1 January 2026 HMRC receives data from UK crypto platforms anyway.

Is crypto on a UK exchange reportable on the FBAR?

Not today, on the face of FinCEN's published position. The FBAR, FinCEN Form 114, is a Bank Secrecy Act filing, separate from the tax return, that US persons file when their foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 in aggregate at any point in the year. Our guide to what FBAR reporting is covers the basics.

FinCEN Notice 2020-2, dated 31 December 2020, is the key document. It says the FBAR regulations at 31 CFR 1010.350 do not currently define a foreign account holding virtual currency as a reportable type of account, so "at this time" such an account is not reportable. The notice contains an exception: it is reportable if it holds reportable assets besides virtual currency. It also says FinCEN intends to propose an amendment that would add virtual currency as a type of reportable account. You can read the notice itself on FinCEN.gov, and the IRS still links to it from its digital assets page (reviewed 2 September 2026).

What has changed since 2020?

As far as we could verify on 28 October 2026, nothing that alters the FBAR position. We found no proposed or final rule adding virtual currency to the FBAR. The IRS FBAR page, last reviewed on 30 July 2026, does not mention virtual currency. FinCEN did withdraw two older digital asset proposals in early October 2026, one on unhosted wallet transactions and one on mixers (see its news release), but neither concerns the FBAR, and the release does not mention it. That is not a reason to assume the stated intention has gone away. The position is a notice of intent, not a permanent exemption, and it can change on publication of a proposed rule.

When can an exchange account still be on the FBAR?

The exception in Notice 2020-2 matters more than it first appears. The notice speaks of an account holding virtual currency, and a UK exchange account is rarely a pure crypto vault. Several situations can make something reportable:

• Your bank account. The UK current account you use to fund the exchange is a foreign bank account in the ordinary way and goes on the FBAR once the aggregate threshold is crossed, whatever you do with the money afterwards.
• Cash balances at the platform. Some UK platforms hold sterling balances or offer pound accounts alongside crypto. Whether a uninvested cash balance makes the account reportable depends on the institution and how the balance is held. FinCEN has not published guidance on this, so treat it as a point to settle with your adviser before you file, not as a given.
• Securities and funds. A UK brokerage or investment platform holding crypto exchange-traded products or other securities is a securities account, and a securities account is reportable in the usual way.
• Signature authority. The FBAR also reaches accounts you can sign on but do not own. A company or family crypto account with you as signatory raises the same questions.

Our guide to filing an FBAR for the first time sets out how to gather balances and convert them into dollars.

Does Form 8938 (FATCA) cover crypto at a foreign exchange?

This is the least settled of the three questions, so we describe the position rather than state a rule. Form 8938 is the FATCA reporting form, filed with your Form 1040 where your specified foreign financial assets exceed the threshold for your situation. The IRS comparison page (reviewed 19 September 2026) gives the thresholds for an unmarried taxpayer living abroad as more than $200,000 on the last day of the year or more than $300,000 at any time in the year, and $400,000 and $600,000 for married filing jointly.

The Instructions for Form 8938 (revised November 2021) define a financial account as a depository or custodial account maintained by a foreign financial institution. A foreign financial institution is, broadly, a non-US financial institution that accepts deposits, holds financial assets for others as a substantial part of its business, or is primarily engaged in investing or trading in securities, partnership interests or commodities. The instructions do not mention digital assets or crypto, and neither does the IRS digital assets page. We found no IRS statement that settles whether a foreign crypto exchange falls inside that definition.

There are two readings. On the narrow reading, a wallet is not a custodial account at an institution of the kind the instructions describe, so it is not reported. On the cautious reading, an exchange that holds assets for customers is functioning as a custodian, and the account belongs on the form. Many advisers adopt the cautious reading once balances are large. Because the thresholds for people living abroad are high, the point only bites where your total specified foreign assets are already near or over them. Our comparison of FBAR vs Form 8938 and the threshold table show where you sit.

What does the Form 1040 digital asset question ask?

The digital asset question on Form 1040 is a separate obligation from both foreign account forms, and it applies even if no foreign account exists. As quoted on the IRS digital assets page, it asks whether at any time during the tax year you (a) received, as a reward, award or payment for property or services, or (b) sold, exchanged or otherwise disposed of, a digital asset or a financial interest in one. The IRS defines a digital asset for tax purposes as any digital representation of value recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger, and treats digital assets as property, not currency.

US citizens in the UK answer it on the same basis as anyone else. Answering "no" when you sold or swapped crypto on a UK exchange is a false statement on a signed return, and the answer also has to line up with any capital gains you report. How the gains are taxed in the UK, and how the two systems interact, is set out in our post on UK capital gains tax for US citizens.

What are HMRC's new crypto reporting rules from 1 January 2026?

The UK has adopted the OECD Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF). The HMRC Cryptoassets Manual says that from 1 January 2026, cryptoasset service providers must collect and record certain details about their customers: full name, address, country (or countries) of tax residence, and tax identification number. The Reporting Cryptoasset Service Providers regulations 2025 require a UK reporting provider to report to HMRC each calendar year by 31 May after the year ends, which puts the first report, covering 2026, at 31 May 2027.

The GOV.UK page Information you need to give to UK cryptoasset service providers (last updated 1 January 2026) sets out what you should expect:

1. Individuals give their full name, date of birth, address and country where they normally live, and a tax identification number. For UK residents that can be a National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference.
2. You give these details to every cryptoasset service provider you use, even one not based in the UK.
3. Giving inaccurate details, or none, to a UK provider can bring a penalty of up to £300.
4. HMRC uses the information to link your crypto activity to your tax record. For a UK resident using a non-UK provider, GOV.UK says the data reaches HMRC through the provider's country where that country follows the same rules.

The practical result: your UK crypto activity will be visible to HMRC from the 2026 calendar year onward. A UK-resident American who has not reported crypto gains on a Self Assessment return should treat this as a deadline rather than a risk. Our post on an HMRC compliance check on overseas income describes how HMRC follows up on mismatched data.

Crypto FBAR reporting compared: who sees what?

The three regimes ask different questions of different people. This table sets them side by side, using the positions verified on the dates shown.

Worked example: a UK-resident American with a UK exchange account

Illustrative example: Sam is a US citizen living in Manchester, single, with a UK current account and a cash ISA holding $12,000 in total at its peak this year, and an account at a UK-regulated crypto exchange holding $40,000 of crypto at its peak. The figures are invented to show the mechanics, not drawn from a real client.

• FBAR: the bank account and ISA exceed $10,000 together, so Sam files the FBAR for those two accounts. On the Notice 2020-2 position, the exchange account holding only crypto is left off, though Sam first confirms it holds no uninvested sterling or securities that would change the answer.
• Form 8938: Sam's total specified foreign financial assets are $52,000 if the exchange is counted, and far below $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time, so the crypto question never needs resolving this year. If the same figures were $240,000 of crypto, the unsettled treatment would matter.
• Form 1040: Sam sold part of the holding during the year, so the digital asset question is answered yes and the gains go on the return in the usual way.
• HMRC: the exchange collects Sam's UK address and National Insurance number from 1 January 2026 and reports to HMRC after the year end. If the disposals are not on Sam's Self Assessment return, the mismatch is visible to HMRC.

The example shows why the answer turns on balances and the type of account, not just on "crypto".

What do people get wrong about crypto FBAR reporting?

• Reading "not reportable on the FBAR" as "nothing to report". The account may still matter for Form 8938, for the 1040 question and for the gains, and the bank accounts that funded it remain reportable.
• Assuming the FBAR position is permanent. The notice says FinCEN intends to change the rule. A future rule could bring exchange accounts in, so the position should be re-checked on each filing.
• Forgetting that HMRC now receives provider data. The new UK rules apply to the crypto the UK exchange sees, whatever the US forms say.
• Treating a wallet and an exchange account as the same thing. Assets held in a wallet you control yourself and assets held for you by a platform raise different questions. We have not found IRS guidance that settles the Form 8938 treatment of either.

What to do now

Work through these steps in order, and keep dated notes of why you took each position:

1. List every crypto account and wallet: platform, country, what it holds, and its peak value in the year in dollars.
2. Check each platform for sterling cash balances or securities, which can change the FBAR answer.
3. Run the FBAR test on your bank accounts, ISAs and pensions, and the Form 8938 test for your filing status, as covered in our guidance for Americans in the UK.
4. Answer the Form 1040 digital asset question and reconcile it to your gains on both the US and UK returns.
5. Give your exchange the details it asks for, accurately, and check that what it reports will match your Self Assessment return.

If you are behind on any of these, say so early. The IRS withdrew its Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures page in July 2026 and its FBAR page now says a late or missing FBAR may be penalised depending on the facts, so the way you correct it matters. Our crypto tax service and foreign income and FBAR service prepare the forms together from one set of records, and you can contact us to talk it through. This post is general information, not advice on your facts.

Official sources

• FinCEN: Notice 2020-2, FBAR filing requirement for virtual currency
• IRS: Digital assets
• GOV.UK: Information you need to give to UK cryptoasset service providers