EU lawmakers vote 43-14 to expand MiCA to DeFi, staking and NFTs

The European Parliament's economic committee wants the European Commission to assess whether DeFi, staking, lending and NFTs should fall under MiCA.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted 43-14 on Friday to table a nonbinding report urging the European Commission to evaluate whether crypto lending and borrowing, staking, non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance should be regulated under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The report, drafted by Belgian lawmaker Johan Van Overtveldt, also called for promoting tokenization across financial services and encouraging euro-denominated stablecoins.

"The report welcomes euro-denominated stablecoins under MiCA and encourages their development to support the bloc's payment sector," the committee said in the resolution, which will go before the full European Parliament for a vote on July 7. If adopted, the resolution would become Parliament's official position on digital assets policy but would not amend MiCA or create new legal obligations.

The committee warned member states against introducing national requirements beyond MiCA that could fragment the bloc's digital asset industry, as the regulation's transitional period ends July 1. After that date, crypto asset service providers generally must hold authorization under MiCA to continue operating across the EU — a deadline that already forced Binance to halt some services for EU users after failing to secure a license through Greece.

Euro stablecoins gain political backing

The report marks a shift in tone from Van Overtveldt, who in 2023 likened cryptocurrencies to drugs during the banking crisis tied to Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The new stance aligns with the committee's broader vision for Europe's digital money ecosystem: on Tuesday, ECON backed legislation for a digital euro, with lawmakers arguing that public and private forms of digital money should coexist.

Euro-denominated stablecoins could complement tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank digital currencies while enabling faster and cheaper cross-border payments, the report said. Broader adoption could strengthen the competitiveness of EU financial markets and the international role of the euro, according to the committee.

The European Commission is already reviewing MiCA. In May, it launched a public consultation seeking feedback on whether the framework should be expanded to cover DeFi, staking, lending, NFTs and tokenized financial assets, while reopening debate over the regulation's ban on interest-bearing stablecoins. The comment period ends Aug. 31, though concrete legislative proposals are unlikely before 2028, according to industry observers.

What comes next

The July 7 plenary vote will determine whether the resolution becomes Parliament's official negotiating position for future digital asset legislation. Meanwhile, the Commission's MiCA review could reshape the regulatory landscape for an industry that has operated under transitional rules since the framework's full application began Dec. 30, 2024.

The push to expand MiCA comes as European institutions race to establish alternatives to US dollar-dominated stablecoins, which account for 98% of the market, according to CoinGecko. A European banking consortium called Qivalis, which is developing a regulated euro stablecoin, expanded to 37 member institutions last month after adding 25 new banks across 15 countries.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.