The European Parliament has signalled a new push to bring parts of the crypto ecosystem squarely into the EU rulebook now that MiCA has taken effect, asking the European Commission to study whether decentralized finance, staking, lending, non-fungible tokens and tokenized assets need clearer regulatory treatment.
On Tuesday lawmakers adopted a report titled “Digital assets – challenges for the competitiveness and integrity of the European Union’s financial system,” which sets Parliament’s official position on the next wave of crypto regulation. The paper does not change the Markets in Crypto‑Assets regulation (MiCA) itself or create new legal obligations today. Instead, it asks the Commission to review crypto activities that remain outside MiCA’s scope and to ensure enforcement is consistent across member states — warning that divergent national approaches could weaken the EU’s single market for digital assets.
Why it matters now
MiCA’s transition period ended on July 1, 2026, after which crypto‑asset service providers (CASPs) that fall under the regulation must obtain either EU‑wide or national authorisation to keep serving customers across the bloc. With that baseline now in place, Parliament wants the Commission to assess whether additional categories — specifically:
- decentralized finance (DeFi),
- staking,
- crypto lending and borrowing,
- non‑fungible tokens (NFTs),
- tokenized financial assets —
should be brought under MiCA or covered by new rules.
The move builds on work the Commission began earlier this year: in May it launched a public consultation asking whether MiCA should be expanded to include more activities and whether limits on interest‑bearing stablecoins need revisiting. Parliament’s report also takes a broadly positive view of tokenization and euro‑denominated stablecoins, arguing that regulated digital assets could boost the competitiveness of European financial markets — but only if rules and enforcement are applied uniformly across the bloc.
Market signals and industry reaction
Regulated euro‑backed tokens appear to be gaining traction. Data from payments firm Decta show that the combined market capitalisation of eight MiCA‑compliant euro stablecoins rose 128% over the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2026, from $295.6 million to $673.9 million. Decta also reported a 43.1% increase in combined trading volume and an increase in the number of compliant euro stablecoins with active market data from five to eight; EURC, EURCV and EURI drove much of the growth.
MiCA’s implementation is already reshaping behaviour in the sector. For example, BNB Chain published guidance to help European users move assets from centralised exchanges into self‑custody wallets and connect directly with decentralized applications, reflecting users’ and firms’ need to adapt as exchanges seek or confirm MiCA authorisation.
What comes next
Parliament’s stance doesn’t change the law immediately, but it gives the Commission political backing to continue scrutinising parts of the market that MiCA left out. Any expansion of the framework would still require separate legislative proposals and the usual EU law‑making process before new rules could take effect — meaning debate and negotiation lie ahead.
Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news
