EU Lawmakers Look Beyond MiCA, Targeting DeFi and Staking

Wednesday, 08/07/2026 | 11:55 GMT by Tanya Chepkova
  • The European Parliament is asking the Commission to assess whether DeFi, staking, crypto lending and NFTs need additional regulation after MiCA.
  • The report issued by European Parliament shows which parts of the digital asset market EU lawmakers are likely to examine next.
Europe

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.

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.

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.

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.

About the Author: Tanya Chepkova
Tanya Chepkova
  • 270 Articles
  • 1 Follower
About the Author: Tanya Chepkova
Tanya Chepkova is a News Editor at Finance Magnates with more than 16 years of experience in financial journalism, covering forex, crypto, and digital asset markets. Her work spans daily industry reporting and data-driven, long-form explainers focused on market structure, trading models, and regulatory shifts. Before joining Finance Magnates, she led the editorial team of a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet for six years. Her reporting combines analytical depth with clear storytelling, with particular attention to how structural changes in trading, stablecoin infrastructure, and emerging products such as prediction markets reshape the broader financial ecosystem. She covers global developments and provides additional insight into CIS markets. Areas of Coverage: Crypto and digital asset markets Prediction markets Stablecoins and cross-border payments Industry analysis and long-form explainers
  • 270 Articles
  • 1 Follower

More from the Author

CryptoCurrency

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}