European Commission Opens Targeted Consultation on the Review of Regulation On Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA)

The European Commission has opened a targeted consultation on the review of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). The consultation opened on 20 May 2026 and responses may be submitted until 31 August 2026. It is intended for a more specialised audience, in particular digital assets industry representatives, including crypto-asset issuers and crypto-asset service providers, as well as public authorities, such as national and EU supervisory authorities, central banks and ministries of finance.

The purpose of the consultation is to assess whether MiCA remains fit for purpose in light of its initial implementation and market and policy developments. The feedback will support the Commission’s reports under Articles 140 and 142 of MiCA and may, if necessary, lead to a legislative proposal amending or supplementing the existing framework.

The consultation focuses on several key areas, including:

• the scope and classification of crypto-assets, including the boundary between MiCA and MiFID II;

• the rules applicable to asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens;

• the adequacy of the current legal framework for crypto-asset service providers;

• market developments and areas not fully or expressly covered by MiCA, including decentralised finance (DeFi), crypto-asset staking, crypto-asset lending and borrowing, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), prediction markets, perpetual futures, tokenised deposits and the legal treatment of tokens.

  
  

For market participants, the consultation is important because it provides an opportunity to identify practical issues arising from MiCA implementation, including legal uncertainty, disproportionate compliance burdens, unclear classification rules and gaps in the treatment of new business models.

Conclusion

The consultation does not mean that MiCA will necessarily be amended. However, it signals that the Commission is actively assessing whether the EU crypto-asset framework should be clarified, simplified or expanded. Crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), issuers and other market participants should review the consultation carefully and consider submitting evidence-based responses before the deadline.