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The European Banking Authority has recommended regulating crypto lending and DeFi access services in the Commission's MiCA review; the proposals have not become law.
European Commission representation office in Paris. Photo: Richardprins via Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Source
The European Banking Authority on September 24 recommended bringing crypto-asset lending into the scope of EU regulation, including services that give customers access to decentralized lending protocols. The recommendation forms part of the authority's response to the European Commission's review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA.
The EBA's intervention also covers stablecoin issuance, crypto-asset classification and reporting. It describes existing requirements for issuers of asset-referenced tokens and electronic money tokens as broadly appropriate, while identifying areas where the framework should change. The lending proposals are recommendations to the Commission, rather than new obligations that took effect with the announcement.
The Commission's consultation remains open until September 30 at 23:59 CEST. Its stated purpose is to assess whether MiCA remains fit for purpose after initial implementation and subsequent market developments. Responses will inform a report that may be accompanied by a legislative proposal if changes are warranted.
The authority's published summary explicitly includes situations in which a crypto-asset service provider gives customers access to decentralized lending protocols. This places firms acting between customers and protocols within the review, alongside businesses that intermediate crypto borrowing and lending more directly.
Cointelegraph reports that the EBA wants the Commission to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of adding borrowing and lending intermediation to MiCA's list of regulated services. Options described in that response include suitability tests, limits on debt-funded exposure and additional disclosures. These measures remain possible components of future rules, not a final package with implementation dates.
The same report identifies a possible certification regime for DeFi lending protocols and possible restrictions involving asset-referenced or electronic money tokens that require MiCA authorization. The precise design of any such system would determine which firms and products it reached. The EBA's press release does not announce a certification process that protocols can apply to today.
Crypto.news independently describes the proposal as targeting both lending intermediaries and firms that act as a route into decentralized protocols. Its report notes that the recommendations would require legislative changes before taking effect. It also recounts the EBA's concern that easier access through crypto firms and AI tools is making the division between centralized and decentralized services less clear.
For the review, the relevant question is therefore what service a business supplies to a customer. A protocol's decentralized design and a company's role in providing access are distinct parts of that assessment. The EBA's wording preserves that distinction by referring specifically to service providers connecting customers with decentralized lending.
The authority separately recommends stronger treatment of third-country multi-issuer stablecoin schemes, which it says pose significant to very significant risks. It also wants reserve requirements reviewed, particularly the minimum amount issuers must keep as bank deposits, while retaining effective risk management. The announcement does not specify a replacement reserve percentage or name an issuer receiving an exemption.
Classification is another concern. The EBA says uncertainty over MiCA's scope and definitions creates avoidable costs and delays when firms introduce products. Its response addresses the boundary between MiCA and other EU financial-services legislation, including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and the Capital Requirements Directive. It recommends clarifying those boundaries rather than assuming that every digital representation of an asset falls under the same regime.
The authority uses September 1 as the reference date for its response. At that point, it says 39 electronic money tokens had been issued under MiCA and no asset-referenced tokens had been authorized. These are counts for the two specified regulatory categories, not a count of all crypto-assets traded in Europe.
MiCA's rules for those token categories began applying on June 30, 2024; the wider regulation entered into application on December 30, 2024, according to the EBA's background note. The authority also wants issuer and service-provider reporting reviewed to support supervision and risk monitoring. The next dated step in the Commission's published consultation process is the September 30 response deadline.