For half a decade, British DeFi founders followed the same depressing playbook: incorporate in London, develop in Shoreditch, and the moment the lawyers got involved, redomicile to Zug or Singapore.
That migration has, for the first time, reversed.
The Digital Securities Sandbox
The FCA's permanent sandbox regime, operational since January, allows DeFi protocols to operate live with up to £50 million in TVL without full authorisation — provided they meet transparency, custody, and KYC requirements appropriate to their architecture.
Eleven protocols have already entered. Four are returning founders who left between 2021 and 2023.
