European Commission Launches Targeted Consultation on the Review of MiCA

Although MiCA has only been fully applicable since 30 December 2024, the Commission is examining whether the framework remains fit for purpose as traditional financial institutions and asset managers increasingly move into crypto-assets, tokenised assets and distributed ledger technology-based financial markets.

The consultation also forms part of the Commission’s simplification agenda to support EU competitiveness, gathering feedback on whether regulatory burdens can be simplified or reduced.

Responses must be submitted by 31 August 2026 through the Commission’s online questionnaire.

Key Areas Covered

The consultation is structured across four substantive parts:

Part 1 Scope and Definitions:

The Commission acknowledges that the distinction between crypto-assets regulated under MiCA and those governed by other sectoral legislation can be complex, particularly as definitions of certain assets are established in national law.

A central question is whether crypto-assets qualifying as financial instruments under MiFID should continue to be governed by sectoral legislation, or whether all assets recorded and transacted on distributed ledgers should in principle be covered by MiCA. Tokenised fund interests, tokenised money-market instruments and other hybrid structures have been highlighted as difficult classification cases.

Part 2 Requirements for ARTs and EMTs:

This section covers the prudential regime for asset-referenced tokens (“ARTs”) and e-money tokens (“EMTs”), including capital requirements, reserve requirements, redemption rights and crisis management.

Key issues include whether capital requirements for issuers are appropriately calibrated, the fact that no ARTs have been licensed in the EU under MiCA after nearly two years, whether the prohibition on granting interest on stablecoins should be modified, and whether MiCA should introduce an equivalence regime for global stablecoins.

Part 3 Crypto-Asset Service Providers:

Approximately 170 crypto-asset service providers (“CASPs”) have now been authorised across 18 Member States, with a number of these authorisations being issued by the Central Bank of Ireland at the end of last year.

The consultation asks whether the prudential regime for CASPs is appropriate or should be adjusted, for example by aligning it with the K-factor regime applicable to investment firms. Supervision of CASPs is outside the scope of this consultation.

Part 4 Policy Areas Beyond MiCA’s Current Scope:

The Commission has sought feedback on decentralised finance (“DeFi”), namely how to complement MiCA, including whether CASPs should conduct due diligence over DeFi protocols they connect clients with, and whether certification schemes for DeFi protocols and smart contracts should be introduced.

On staking, lending and borrowing, the consultation asks whether these activities, currently not separately regulated under MiCA, should be subject to regulation. Concerning non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”), the Commission asks whether the current market justifies regulating providers of services related to these tokens.

The consultation also highlights DLT-based prediction markets and perpetual futures on crypto-assets, asking whether these should be governed by MiFID or MiCA. On tokenised deposits, the Commission seeks views on their potential relevance for payments, capital markets and on-chain financial activities.

There is a significant focus on the legal treatment of tokens, including ownership rights, custody, collateral arrangements, insolvency treatment and enforceability across Member States. A key question is whether holding or controlling a token on a blockchain constitutes ownership, and whether EU-level legal harmonisation may be needed to support tokenisation markets.

Cross Border Competitiveness

The consultation raises concerns around regulatory arbitrage, access to global liquidity pools, equivalence with third-country regimes and the competitiveness of the EU framework.

Overall, the review suggests the EU is moving beyond viewing MiCA purely as a crypto framework and is increasingly considering how digital assets, tokenisation and on-chain infrastructure intersect with mainstream capital markets and institutional finance, in line with what we are seeing across financial markets globally.

How Can We Help

Our dedicated Digital Assets Group comprises experts across all practice areas advising clients operating in the digital assets sector. This includes advising on corporate structure and governance requirements for digital asset operations, structuring tokenised funds and other financial products with tailored offering and constitutional documents that embed legal and regulatory requirements across the product lifecycle, advising on regulatory and compliance matters including MiCA, assisting with CASP authorisation applications and other licensing and registration processes, providing transaction support for token sales, venture capital investments and strategic partnerships, and handling contentious issues including disputes relating to smart contracts, trading claims and digital asset recovery.

Further Information

Further information on our Global Digital Assets group and the services we provide is available on our website. If you would like to discuss fund tokenisation, or other issues relating to digital assets, please liaise with your usual Maples Group contact or the persons on this page.