EU Parliament Says DeFi, NFTs, Staking Deserve a Regulatory Stare-Down 👀

The European Parliament's economic affairs committee has urged the European Commission to assess whether crypto lending and borrowing, staking, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) should fall under existing or new regulatory frameworks. The recommendations were contained in a report tabled Friday for a plenary vote, which also called for promoting tokenization across financial services, encouraging euro-denominated stablecoins and reviewing whether additional crypto activities should be brought under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The document is an own-initiative resolution by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and does not amend MiCA or impose new legal obligations; it is expected to go before the full Parliament on July 7, and if adopted will become the Parliament's official position on digital assets policy.

The report was drafted by Belgian Member of the European Parliament Johan Van Overtveldt. It argues that euro-denominated stablecoins could complement tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank digital currencies while enabling faster and cheaper cross-border payments, and that broader adoption could strengthen the competitiveness of EU financial markets and the international role of the euro. The recommendations follow remarks earlier this month by former Bank for International Settlements general manager Agustín Carstens, a longtime crypto critic who softened his stance on stablecoins, and they align with ECON's broader digital money agenda: on Tuesday the committee backed legislation for a digital euro, with lawmakers arguing that public and private forms of digital money should coexist rather than compete.

Van Overtveldt first presented a draft of the report in February, after which ECON members negotiated and amended it for months. His stance has shifted over time: in 2023, following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, he called for tighter restrictions on cryptocurrencies and likened them to drugs during that year's banking crisis. The crisis was closely linked to stablecoins, after USDC issuer Circle held roughly $3.3 billion of its reserves at Silicon Valley Bank when it collapsed, briefly causing USDC to lose its dollar peg.

The resolution comes as several EU member states adjust their own crypto rules. Polish President Andrzej Deda has vetoed MiCA implementation legislation, prompting crypto firms to seek licensing in other jurisdictions, while other lawmakers have thrown support behind a digital euro and signaled a warming view of regulated euro stablecoins. The Parliament's economic affairs committee approved the report before referring it for the plenary vote scheduled for July 7.