Key facts
- The European Parliament adopted a position paper on digital assets.
- The paper urges the European Commission to assess DeFi, crypto lending, staking, and NFTs for regulatory inclusion.
- It also calls for consistent application of MiCA across member states.
- MiCA's transitional period concluded on July 1, requiring authorized crypto-asset service providers to operate within the EU.
- The report supports tokenization and euro-denominated stablecoins.
European lawmakers have adopted a policy paper outlining their approach to digital asset regulation following the end of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework's transition period. The paper, approved by the European Parliament, calls for the European Commission to evaluate whether decentralized finance (DeFi), crypto lending and borrowing, staking, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) should be brought under clearer regulatory oversight.
The vote solidifies the report, titled “Digital assets – challenges for the competitiveness and integrity of the European Union’s financial system,” as the Parliament’s official policy position. However, it does not directly alter MiCA or impose new legal requirements on crypto firms.
MiCA’s transitional phase concluded on July 1, mandating that crypto-asset service providers operating within its scope must obtain bloc-wide or national authorization to continue their activities across the European Union. The Parliament's overwhelming approval of its digital asset policy reflects increasing pressure in Brussels to address crypto activities not currently covered by MiCA.
While MiCA established licensing and conduct rules for crypto-asset service providers and certain token issuers, discussions continue regarding the framework's treatment of DeFi, staking, lending, NFTs, and tokenized financial assets. The European Commission has been reviewing potential expansions to MiCA, including a public consultation in May seeking feedback on covering additional crypto activities and reconsidering restrictions on interest-bearing stablecoins.
The Parliament's report also adopts a more favorable view of tokenization and euro-denominated stablecoins, suggesting that digital assets could enhance the competitiveness of EU financial markets if regulated uniformly across the bloc.