The European Union could fold decentralized finance (DeFi) access providers, staking and crypto lending into a broader Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, under new proposals from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) aimed at services that remain partly outside the bloc's existing crypto regime. The regulator called for changes to make the framework clearer, safer and ready for emerging services.

Under the plan, firms that give users access to DeFi protocols would be treated as a new regulated crypto-asset service, while clearer criteria would determine when a protocol is sufficiently decentralized to remain outside requirements designed for intermediaries. That boundary line is the crux: MiCA was drafted with identifiable intermediaries in mind, and where decentralization ends and a regulated business begins has been left open under the current text.

The proposals arrived as the European Commission's MiCA review consultation closed on September 30. Any expansion would still require further EU policymaking and potentially legislative amendments; the regulator's recommendations do not take effect automatically. Firms would only face new obligations if the recommendations carry through the review and are written into EU law.

Staking and Lending Face New Disclosure Rules

Staking, lending and borrowing services would face proportionate requirements covering costs, risks, expected rewards, collateral arrangements and potential losses. For providers, that would mean disclosure expectations set at EU level rather than depending on which national supervisor they answer to.

MiCA contains no dedicated licensing regime for staking at present. Direct participation in proof-of-stake consensus is treated as distinct from staking-as-a-service, in which an intermediary stakes customer assets on a client's behalf. Current rules already bar crypto-asset service providers from using client assets for their own account.

The proposed changes would place intermediary staking and lending products more explicitly inside a common EU framework, narrowing differences in how national regulators treat services that were not fully addressed when MiCA was drafted.

The move follows the end of the EU's MiCA transition in July, when unauthorized crypto firms were required to begin winding down services rather than continue operating through older national registrations.

Non-Compliant Stablecoin Services Could Be Blocked

Regulated crypto firms would also face explicit restrictions on offering services connected to stablecoins that fail MiCA requirements. The change would remove uncertainty over whether an authorized platform may continue supporting a token that does not meet the bloc's rules for asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens, the two stablecoin categories the regulation already covers. MiCA already regulates the issuance and public offering of those assets, but ESMA wants the service-provider restrictions stated directly.

Supervisors would gain stronger tools against unauthorized third-country firms, fraudulent websites and crypto assets linked to suspected market abuse or terrorist financing. ESMA also wants binding powers over crypto-asset classification, including hybrid tokens that combine characteristics from multiple regulatory categories.

Europe had already issued roughly 230 MiCA licenses by late June, turning differences in national interpretation into a larger issue as licensed firms began passporting services across the bloc — operating throughout all member states on the strength of a single national authorization.

DeFi Definition Moves Toward the Center of MiCA

MiCA's existing review mandate already requires EU policymakers to examine the appropriate treatment of decentralized finance, crypto lending and borrowing. The latest proposals move that debate toward a distinction between autonomous protocols and businesses that provide an identifiable access layer around them.

The Commission's consultation opened on May 20 and closed on September 30, 2026. Its findings can feed into the formal MiCA review and, where policymakers decide the current framework is insufficient, a future legislative proposal expanding the regulation. For DeFi gateways, staking services and lending platforms serving EU clients, the practical question now is whether these activities shift from the edges of the regime into the licensed perimeter.

Source: Crypto Adventure