• The EBA calls for the regulatory framework to be strengthened, especially in the area of risks arising from multi-issuer stablecoin schemes.  
• The EBA identifies a need for clarifications to the scope of MiCA to foster consistency in the classification of crypto-assets and support innovation.
• The EBA recommends regulating crypto-asset lending, including activities linked to decentralised finance (DeFi).

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on the review of the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA). While MiCA has established a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-asset activities in the European Union, the crypto sector continues to evolve rapidly with new products, services and business models emerging to market. Against this backdrop, the EBA recommends the European Commission prioritise specific issues in its review of MiCA.

The EBA assesses that the existing MiCA requirements for issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) are broadly appropriate. However, in the case of third-country multi-issuer schemes the EBA recommends the European Commission consider regulatory changes to strengthen the framework to mitigate the significant to very significant risks posed by these schemes. Additionally, reserve requirements for issuers – notably the minimum amount of reserves to be held as deposits – should be reviewed while preserving effective risk management.

The EBA identifies that the classification of crypto-assets under MiCA is a challenge for industry and supervisors and result in avoidable costs and delays for firms in product roll-out, impeding innovation and undermining the competitiveness of the EU market. For these reasons the EBA recommends the European Commission consider steps to clarify the scope of, and definitions in, MiCA.

The EBA also encourages the European Commission to consider regulating crypto-asset lending, including where crypto-asset service providers facilitate access to decentralised lending protocols, in view of the risks posed to consumers.

Finally, the EBA recommends the European Commission take steps to review the reporting framework for issuers and crypto-asset service providers to support effective supervision and risk monitoring.

The EBA will continue to support the European Commission’s review of MiCA with the objective of ensuring a robust, proportionate and future-proof regulatory framework for the EU crypto-asset sector.

Legal basis and background

• The EBA has a mandate to contribute to the consistent application of legally binding Union acts, in particular by contributing to a common supervisory culture and preventing regulatory arbitrage (point (b) of Article 8(1) of the EBA Founding Regulation). Additionally, the EBA has a statutory duty to monitor and assess market developments, including technological innovation and innovative financial services (Article 9(2) of the EBA Founding Regulation).
• Against this background, the EBA has prepared a response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on the review of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), focussing on those questions of primarily relevance to the EBA’s mandate, including those relating to (i) scope and definitions in MiCA, including regarding the boundary between MiCA and other EU financial services legislation such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD); (ii) requirements applying to ARTs and EMTs and their issuers; (iii) multi-function groups; (iv) the interplay between MiCA and PSD2/PSD3/R; (v) policy areas beyond the current scope of MiCA, including borrowing and lending of crypto-assets and tokenised deposits.
• MiCA entered into application on 30 December 2024, with the requirements applicable to ARTs and EMTs (Titles III and IV MiCA) entering into application on 30 June 2024. As at 01 September 2026 (the reference date used by EBA for the purposes of its response), 39 EMTs have been issued under MiCA and 0 ARTs have been authorised under MiCA.