EU Lawmakers Urge New Rules for DeFi, Staking and NFTs in Push to Expand MiCA Beyond Its Current Scope

The European Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee wants Brussels to take a hard look at whether decentralized finance, staking and non-fungible tokens should finally come under formal regulation, in a move that could reshape how everyday Europeans buy, lend and hold crypto.

By Priya Sharma | October 3, 2026

The committee, known as ECON, approved a report on Friday that urges the European Commission to assess whether crypto lending and borrowing, staking, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance — better known as DeFi, financial services built on blockchains that run without a traditional middleman — should be brought inside the European Union’s crypto rulebook. For regular investors, the question is simple: if these corners of the market get regulated, they also get legal protections they currently do not have.

The Hook: An Expanding Rulebook

The report was drafted by Belgian Member of the European Parliament Johan Van Overtveldt and takes the form of an own-initiative resolution — essentially formal advice from lawmakers rather than a law itself. Alongside the call to assess DeFi, staking, NFTs and crypto lending, the report pushes the Commission to promote tokenization across financial services, encourage euro-denominated stablecoins, and consider whether additional crypto activities should fall under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

The text now heads to a plenary vote of the full European Parliament. If adopted, it becomes Parliament’s official position on digital asset policy — but it would not amend MiCA or create any new legal obligations on its own. Think of it as a wishlist handed to the Commission, the body that actually drafts EU laws.

What Is Inside the Report

• DeFi, staking and NFTs — the Commission should assess whether these activities need regulation under MiCA, closing the gaps the current rulebook leaves open.
• Tokenization — the report calls for promoting the blockchain-based representation of traditional financial products across financial services.
• Euro stablecoins — it welcomes euro-denominated stablecoins under MiCA and encourages their development to support the bloc’s payments sector.
• Level playing field — lawmakers urged consistent application of MiCA across all member states, warning that national add-on rules could fragment the EU’s digital asset industry.

The Core Conflict: A Former Crypto Critic Changes Tone

Perhaps the most striking part of the story is who wrote it. Van Overtveldt is the same lawmaker who, during the 2023 banking turmoil around Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate, called for tighter restrictions on cryptocurrencies and likened them to drugs. That crisis was closely tied to stablecoins: Circle, the issuer of USDC, held roughly 3.3 billion USD of its reserves at Silicon Valley Bank when it collapsed, briefly knocking USDC off its dollar peg.

His new report strikes a markedly different tone. It argues that euro-denominated stablecoins could complement tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank digital currencies, while enabling faster and cheaper cross-border payments. Broader adoption, the report says, could strengthen the competitiveness of EU financial markets and boost the international role of the euro.

The shift mirrors a wider warming among policymakers. Days before the report surfaced, former Bank for International Settlements general manager Agustín Carstens — a longtime crypto critic — softened his stance on stablecoins, suggesting they could coexist with fiat money. Earlier in the week, ECON also backed legislation for a digital euro, arguing that public and private forms of digital money should coexist rather than compete.

From February Draft to Committee Text

Van Overtveldt first presented a draft of the report in February, before months of negotiations and amendments by ECON members. The earlier version largely focused on MiCA’s existing framework, including stablecoin classifications and legal certainty for stablecoins issued by multiple entities. The final text goes further by explicitly flagging the sectors MiCA currently leaves out.

Market Implications: What This Means for You

If you hold crypto in the EU, this report matters for three reasons. First, DeFi and staking currently sit in a regulatory gray zone — if the Commission follows through, platforms offering those services in Europe would face licensing, disclosure and consumer-protection rules, much like exchanges already do under MiCA. Second, a push for euro stablecoins could mean more euro-denominated options with MiCA-grade reserves, reducing reliance on dollar-pegged tokens. Third, consistent enforcement across member states would make it harder for any single country to impose confusing extra requirements — a concern the report raises explicitly.

Still, patience is required. An own-initiative resolution sets direction, not deadlines. Any actual MiCA expansion would need the Commission to propose legislation, followed by the full EU legislative process, which typically takes years.

The Verdict

Europe’s lawmakers are signaling that the next chapter of crypto regulation will be about finishing what MiCA started — bringing DeFi, staking and NFTs off the sidelines. For everyday investors, that promises clearer rules and stronger protections down the road, though nothing changes overnight. Watch the plenary vote and the Commission’s response: those two steps will reveal whether the EU’s gray zones are about to shrink.

The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.