EU Lawmakers Look Beyond MiCA, Targeting DeFi and Staking

Just days after the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation became fully applicable on July 1, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to identify gaps in the current crypto rulebook and assess whether further regulation is needed.

For brokers and institutional firms, it signals that areas currently outside MiCA are likely to receive greater regulatory attention.

DeFi and Staking Move Into Focus

MiCA created a framework for centralised crypto-asset service providers, but large parts of the on-chain market remained outside its scope. Parliament is now asking the European Commission to examine those areas more directly.

The areas under review fall into two broad groups. DeFi lending and borrowing raise questions about shadow-banking risks, while staking and yield products point to disclosure, risk-management and consumer-protection issues. NFTs and tokenised financial assets sit closer to the securities perimeter, depending on how they are structured.

The report titled Digital Assets – Challenges for the Competitiveness and Integrity of the EU Financial System calls for assessing whether those products should fall under existing securities and financial-market rules. A key concern is fragmentation.

If individual EU member states develop separate approaches to DeFi, staking or NFTs, Parliament argues, the bloc risks undermining the single-market framework MiCA was designed to create.

A More Supportive Tone on Euro Stablecoins

The report also takes a more supportive view of tokenisation and euro-denominated stablecoins, describing regulated digital assets as part of Europe’s financial competitiveness strategy.

Market data points in the same direction. According to payments firm Decta, the market capitalisation of MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins, led by EURC, EURCV and EURI, rose 128% over the past year to nearly $674 million.

LATEST: ⚡ MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins grew 128% in market cap to $673.9M in the year before Europe’s MiCA transition period ended, according to Decta. pic.twitter.com/DHPQwoFNxS

Trading volumes increased by more than 43% over the same period. A larger market for regulated euro stablecoins could strengthen on-chain settlement options for European banks, brokers and fintechs while reducing reliance on dollar-denominated stablecoins.

What Brokers Should Take From

The report indicates which parts of the crypto market European lawmakers are most likely to examine next.

Firms that invested early in MiCA compliance could be better positioned if staking, lending and other on-chain products are eventually brought into a formal regulatory framework.

Brokers and fintechs should pay attention to whether MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins can become a practical settlement tool inside the EU framework.