ESMA seeks MiCA changes to tighten crypto safeguards and cover DeFi services

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ESMA seeks MiCA changes

Highlights

ESMA proposes stricter standards for crypto-asset marketing, expanded disclosure on staking and lending, and increased supervisory powers against unauthorised services and online fraud.
ESMA recommends new rules for classifying crypto-assets, binding opinions on token classification, and a regulated service category for DeFi access providers to ensure market consistency.
ESMA calls for an EU regulatory framework for tokenised securities and on-chain settlement to support an integrated tokenised capital market and future cross-border activity.

Regulatory changes proposed for crypto services

As reported by European Securities and Markets Authority, the EU markets regulator has submitted recommendations to the European Commission's public consultation on the review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The proposals are intended to make the framework clearer while expanding protections around areas that ESMA says are not fully covered under the current rules.

ESMA is calling for stricter standards for the marketing of crypto-assets, especially where influencers and third parties are involved, alongside greater transparency on costs. It also wants proportionate requirements for staking, lending and borrowing, including disclosure rules that would give investors clearer information on risks, rewards, collateral arrangements and potential losses before they commit funds.

The regulator is also seeking stronger supervisory powers to respond to unauthorised services, online fraud and non-compliant stablecoins. Its recommendations include improving the EU's ability to detect, block and deactivate fraudulent websites, freeze crypto-assets in suspected cases of market abuse or terrorist financing, and take firmer action against third-country firms soliciting EU investors without MiCA authorisation.

EU market impact and future tokenisation agenda

Beyond enforcement, ESMA says MiCA needs clearer criteria for deciding when an activity can be treated as genuinely decentralised as DeFi and stablecoin activity expands. It is also proposing a new regulated crypto-asset service category for firms that provide users with access to DeFi protocols.

To reduce uncertainty across the bloc, ESMA recommends new rules on classifying crypto-assets, including hybrid tokens, and wants the power to issue binding opinions on token classification so equivalent products are treated consistently throughout the EU market. The regulator also proposes simplifying white-paper notification procedures, cutting duplicative authorisation requirements for some regulated firms and improving consistency in prudential rules.

Looking beyond the immediate MiCA review, ESMA says the EU also needs a framework for tokenised securities and on-chain settlement. It argues that such a regime would help build an integrated European tokenised capital market and support future cross-border activity.

Our earlier article on Robinhood’s platform expansion outlined the broker’s plans to broaden around-the-clock market access and automation for active traders, including 24/7 trading for select U.S. equities and AI-powered trading agents. We also noted its intention to add crypto perpetual futures in-app, underscoring how retail brokers are moving deeper into crypto-linked products and derivatives as competition shifts toward nonstop access and more complex offerings.

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