EU lawmakers push to pull DEFI, staking and NFTs under review

Europe's crypto rulebook may be about to get significantly broader. The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has urged the European Commission to examine whether additional regulation is needed for digital-asset services including decentralized finance (DeFi), staking, lending and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The move targets precisely the areas that MiCA, the EU's landmark crypto framework, currently leaves uncovered.

What the Resolution Says

The nonbinding report, drafted by Belgian Member of the European Parliament Johan Van Overtveldt, represents Parliament's evolving stance on crypto regulation and signals a potential expansion of MiCA. The recommendations were tabled for a plenary vote expected on July 7. If adopted by Parliament, the text would become the chamber's official position on digital asset policy, but would not itself change MiCA or create new legal obligations.

The resolution calls on the EU to apply MiCA uniformly across all member states, warning that if individual countries start layering on their own extra requirements, it could splinter the EU's crypto industry and undercut the level playing field MiCA was designed to create.

On stablecoins, the committee took a notably supportive stance. The committee welcomed euro-denominated stablecoins under the MiCA framework and encouraged their development to support the EU's payments infrastructure. The text argues that euro stablecoins could complement tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank digital currencies, making cross-border payments faster and more cost-effective.

Commission Already in Review Mode

The European Commission is already reviewing MiCA. In May, the Commission opened a public consultation asking whether the framework should be extended to areas such as DeFi, staking, lending, NFTs and tokenized financial assets, and whether the current ban on interest-bearing stablecoins should be revisited.

The timing is also significant for the industry at large. MiCA's transitional period is set to end on July 1, after which crypto-asset service providers generally need authorization under MiCA to continue operating across the EU.

While the measure would not amend MiCA or create new legal obligations, it signals how lawmakers may shape subsequent Commission proposals and supervisory priorities. For DeFi protocols and NFT platforms that have largely operated outside formal regulatory perimeters, the direction of travel is now clear.

Sources:
EU committee urges review of DeFi, staking and NFTs under MiCA – GNCrypto News
EU Lawmakers urge examination of whether DeFi, Staking and NFTs need MiCA-style rules – CoinCodeCap
EU Lawmakers Call for Clear DeFi, Staking, NFT Rules Under MiCA – CryptoBreaking