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The world's largest decentralized lending protocol has secured the regulatory foundation it needs to bring stablecoin infrastructure into the UK's regulated financial system.
Aave Labs announced on May 28, 2026 that its two UK subsidiaries, Push Labs Limited and Push Virtual Assets Limited, have received registration from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority as cryptoasset exchange providers, enabling key activities such as exchanging cryptoassets for fiat and vice versa under the UK's Anti-Money Laundering regime.
The announcement marks a definitive milestone in the institutionalization of DeFi, and it arrives in the same week that SoFiUSD launched as the first stablecoin issued by a US national bank and as the stablecoin market hit a record $322 billion, creating a global regulatory and commercial convergence in stablecoin infrastructure that is accelerating faster in May 2026 than at any previous point.
Key Takeaways
- Push Labs Limited and Push Virtual Assets Limited received FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registration on May 12, 2026, announced May 28.
- Combined with an existing Electronic Money Institution authorization, Push now holds a dual-permissioned framework covering both electronic money and cryptoasset exchange activities in the UK.
- Push plans to offer zero-fee stablecoin on and off-ramping between bank accounts and crypto wallets across the UK and European Economic Area.
Announced May 28, 2026 · Registered since May 12 · Push Labs Ltd. and Push Virtual Assets Ltd.
What Push Is and What the FCA Registration Covers
Aave Labs' Push describes itself as a "simple way to move between Euros and stablecoins." It is the consumer-facing product brand that Aave Labs has built to bridge its DeFi protocol infrastructure with regulated retail financial services, targeting the mainstream users who have not yet adopted stablecoins because they lack a compliant, friction-free access point.
The registrations, numbered 1031720 and 1031721 respectively, mean these entities can now operate under UK anti-money laundering regulations. The FCA registration specifically covers cryptoasset exchange provider activities, which includes exchanging cryptoassets for fiat currency and vice versa.
This is the regulatory permission that enables Push to build compliant on and off-ramps between traditional bank accounts and stablecoin wallets.
Both Push Labs Limited and Push Virtual Assets Limited already hold Electronic Money Institution authorization under the UK's Electronic Money Regulations 2011, operating under firm reference number 900984.
The new cryptoasset exchange provider registration layers on top of that existing EMI authorization, creating what Aave Labs describes as a dual-permissioned framework: the approval, announced alongside the group's existing Electronic Money Institution authorisation, creates a robust dual-permissioned framework for regulated crypto services in the UK.
In practical terms: the EMI license allows Push to issue electronic money and handle fiat. The cryptoasset exchange registration allows Push to exchange between fiat and cryptoassets. Combined, the two permissions cover the full on and off-ramp workflow that stablecoin adoption requires at the consumer level.
The Zero-Fee On and Off-Ramp Product
The headline commercial feature of Push's UK regulatory permissions is zero-fee stablecoin on and off-ramping. Push says it enables users to convert between euros and stablecoins with no push fees and spreads, offering on- and off-ramping between bank accounts and crypto wallets.
That zero-fee positioning is commercially significant in the stablecoin on-ramp market, where most providers charge fees or embed spread markups that create friction precisely at the entry point where new users are most sensitive to cost.
As covered in our stablecoin payment rails analysis, the last-mile infrastructure problem in stablecoin adoption is not the stablecoin layer itself but the regulated fiat entry and exit points. Zero-fee on and off-ramping backed by FCA regulatory registration directly addresses that problem for UK and EEA users.
Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov framed the strategic intent directly: "Our FCA EMI authorisation and cryptoasset registrations provide the regulatory foundation to deliver next-generation, zero-fee onchain consumer financial products in the UK.
With regulatory permissions now established across both the UK and EEA, we are well positioned to scale product development and deliver secure, trusted user experiences across these markets."
The Aave protocol's X announcement was equally direct: "Aave Labs is building for the next million users, and regulated products with zero-fee stablecoin on/off-ramping are necessary to do it."
The UK Plus EEA Dual-Jurisdiction Coverage
The UK FCA registration completes a dual-jurisdiction regulatory framework that Aave Labs has been assembling across Europe. Ireland gives Aave Labs a passport to serve the 30-country EEA.
The UK, which exited the EU and operates its own regulatory framework, requires separate authorization. By securing both, Aave Labs has covered the two major regulatory jurisdictions in Europe in quick succession.
In November 2025, subsidiary Push Virtual Assets Ireland Limited secured authorisation as a cryptoasset service provider under the EU framework, providing the EEA passport. The UK FCA registration announced today closes the second regulatory gap, giving Push simultaneous reach across the UK market and the 30-country European Economic Area.
For the stablecoin market operating at $322 billion and the institutional stablecoin adoption wave accelerating through 2026, a DeFi protocol's consumer-facing subsidiary holding compliant fiat rails in both the UK and EEA is a materially different infrastructure position from anything the DeFi ecosystem has previously achieved at regulated scale.
What This Means for DeFi's Regulatory Path
Aave Labs' successful registration signals that the FCA is willing to engage with established DeFi projects that demonstrate robust compliance frameworks. The FCA has maintained a high bar for cryptoasset registration since January 2021, rejecting or withdrawing applications from numerous firms including Binance. Push Labs receiving both registrations signals that Aave Labs' compliance infrastructure met the FCA's standards for an established DeFi operator.
Regulatory registration tends to function as a prerequisite for institutional engagement. For DeFi protocols seeking institutional capital flows, having a regulated fiat entry and exit layer backed by FCA registration removes one of the primary compliance objections that institutional treasury teams and compliance officers cite when evaluating DeFi yield products.
As covered in our best crypto compliance tools guide and KYC solutions for stablecoin platforms, the compliance infrastructure layer is where most DeFi adoption friction concentrates for regulated institutions. Push's dual-permissioned framework is the first time a major DeFi protocol's subsidiary has built that compliance layer directly rather than relying on third-party on-ramp providers.
The Bank of England's ongoing stablecoin framework work is also relevant context: the FCA's current MLR-based cryptoasset registration is not the same as authorization under the UK's upcoming full crypto regulatory regime. The FCA previously said that the authorization under the upcoming crypto regime will not be automatically granted to companies that have already been registered under the existing Money Laundering Regulations.
Push will need to navigate the full UK crypto authorization process as that regime takes shape, making the current FCA registration a foundation rather than a final regulatory destination.
Conclusion
Aave Labs' Push securing dual FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registrations alongside its existing EMI authorization is the most significant regulatory milestone achieved by a DeFi protocol in the UK market and represents the moment where the largest decentralized lending protocol acquired the regulated infrastructure needed to build consumer-grade stablecoin on and off-ramps under full UK and EEA compliance coverage.
The zero-fee positioning is a direct commercial attack on the friction that has kept mainstream users from stablecoin adoption. The dual UK plus EEA jurisdiction coverage creates a scalable European market position that no other DeFi protocol currently holds at equivalent regulatory depth.
Whether Push's zero-fee on and off-ramp product drives the mainstream adoption Aave Labs is building toward depends on execution, but the regulatory foundation is now in place to attempt it at scale.
FAQ:
1. What is Push by Aave Labs and what FCA registration did it receive?
Push by Aave Labs is the consumer-facing product brand of Aave Labs comprising UK subsidiaries Push Labs Limited and Push Virtual Assets Limited, and on May 28, 2026 Aave Labs announced that both entities received registration from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority as cryptoasset exchange providers under the UK's Anti-Money Laundering regime, with registration numbers 1031720 and 1031721 respectively, enabling them to exchange cryptoassets for fiat currency and vice versa as regulated entities in the UK.
2. What is the difference between Push's FCA cryptoasset registration and its Electronic Money Institution authorization?
The difference between Push's FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registration and its Electronic Money Institution authorization is that the EMI authorization under the UK's Electronic Money Regulations 2011 allows Push to issue electronic money and handle fiat currency transactions, while the new FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registration allows Push to exchange between fiat currency and cryptoassets including stablecoins, with the two permissions combined creating a dual-permissioned framework that covers the complete on and off-ramp workflow from bank account to stablecoin wallet.
3. What does zero-fee stablecoin on and off-ramping mean and why does it matter?
Zero-fee stablecoin on and off-ramping means that Push by Aave Labs plans to enable users to convert between euros and stablecoins and between bank accounts and crypto wallets without charging platform fees or embedding spread markups in the exchange rate, which matters because the friction created by fees and spreads at the fiat entry and exit points is one of the primary barriers preventing mainstream users from adopting stablecoins, and removing that friction under a regulated FCA-approved framework directly addresses the adoption barrier that consumer stablecoin infrastructure has historically struggled to overcome.
4. What is the difference between the UK FCA registration and the EEA registration that Push already holds?
The difference between the UK FCA registration and the EEA registration that Push already holds is that Push Virtual Assets Ireland Limited secured cryptoasset service provider authorization in Ireland in November 2025 under the EU framework, which provides a regulatory passport to operate across the 30 countries of the European Economic Area, while the UK FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registration covers only the UK market because the UK exited the EU and operates its own separate regulatory framework that requires independent authorization, meaning the two registrations together give Push dual-jurisdiction coverage across both the UK and the entire EEA.
5. What is the significance of the FCA approving an established DeFi protocol's subsidiaries?
The significance of the FCA approving Aave Labs' Push subsidiaries as cryptoasset exchange providers is that the FCA has maintained a high bar for cryptoasset registration since January 2021, rejecting or withdrawing applications from numerous firms, and Aave Labs' successful registration signals that the FCA is willing to engage with established DeFi projects that demonstrate robust compliance frameworks, setting a precedent that may open the path for other major DeFi protocols to pursue similar regulatory registrations in the UK market.
6. Will Push's current FCA registration automatically qualify it under the UK's upcoming full crypto regime?
Push's current FCA cryptoasset exchange provider registration under the UK's Money Laundering Regulations will not automatically qualify it for authorization under the UK's upcoming full crypto regulatory regime, because the FCA has stated that registration under the existing MLR framework will not automatically translate into authorization under the new regime, meaning Push will need to navigate the full UK crypto authorization process as the upcoming regulatory framework is implemented, making the current FCA registration a compliance foundation and market entry point rather than a final regulatory destination.
Disclaimer:
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice; no material herein should be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument, and readers should conduct their own independent research or consult a qualified professional.
