EU Parliament wants DEFI, staking and NFTs pulled into the rulebook

The European Parliament (@Europarl_EN) voted on Tuesday to adopt its official position on digital asset policy, calling on the European Commission to assess whether decentralized finance (DeFi), staking, crypto lending and borrowing, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) should be brought within the scope of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

A political signal, not a new law

The resolution, if adopted, would become the Parliament's official policy position, but it would not modify MiCA or impose new obligations. The move is best read as a formal political marker: it tells the Commission where lawmakers want the regulatory conversation to go, without forcing its hand.

The recommendations form part of an own-initiative report drafted by Belgian MEP Johan Van Overtveldt, who first presented a draft in February before months of negotiations and amendments by ECON members. The committee approved the text on 23 June 2026 by 38 votes to 6, with 12 abstentions, before it was tabled as A10-0186/2026 ahead of the full plenary vote.

MiCA currently focuses mainly on centralized crypto companies, such as token issuers and exchanges, leaving newer crypto activities only partly covered. DeFi services that are fully decentralized and NFTs are explicitly excluded from its regulatory scope. The Parliament's vote signals growing appetite to close those gaps.

Tokenization, euro stablecoins, and a broader agenda

The report does not cut only one way. It also called for promoting tokenization across financial services and encouraging euro-denominated stablecoins to support the bloc's payments infrastructure. ECON also called for consistent, EU-wide application of MiCA to avoid divergent national rules that could fragment the single market.

The Parliament's position lands as the Commission is already moving in the same direction. On 20 May 2026, the European Commission launched a targeted consultation on the review of MiCA, open until 31 August 2026, examining whether the regulation remains fit for purpose as institutional adoption of digital assets accelerates. A report is due to the European Parliament and Council by 30 June 2027.

Any legislative changes are expected to take several years, with revised rules unlikely to take effect before 2027 or 2028. For now, the vote confirms that EU policymakers see MiCA as a foundation to build on, not a finished project.

Sources:
CoinPaprika: EU Lawmakers Urge Review of DeFi, Staking and NFT Regulation
Maples Group: The European Commission Launches MiCA Review Consultation
UEEx: Three Years After MiCA Became Law, Europe's Crypto Framework Is Undergoing a Rethink