The European Banking Authority has asked the European Commission to consider broadening the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) to cover crypto-asset lending, access to decentralised finance lending protocols and multi-issuer stablecoin arrangements.
In its response to the Commission’s targeted consultation, published on September 24, 2026, the EBA also identified asset classification and reporting as priorities for the MiCA review. MiCA is the EU’s regulatory framework for crypto-assets and related service providers.
The submission sets out the banking regulator’s recommendations as the Commission considers whether changes to the EU crypto framework are needed. It does not itself alter MiCA or impose new requirements on firms or token issuers.
Crypto lending and DeFi access
The EBA’s consultation response recommended that the European Commission consider amendments to add intermediated crypto borrowing and lending to MiCA’s regulated crypto-asset services.
The authority also proposed requirements for crypto-asset service providers facilitating clients’ access to DeFi lending protocols. Intermediated activity would focus on lending and borrowing through an intermediary, while the separate service-provider proposal concerns access to decentralised lending services.
These are recommendations for the Commission-led MiCA review, not provisions already in force. The response does not establish a final rulebook or implementation dates, so the eventual scope remains open.
Lending safeguards and protocol resilience
The EBA proposed considering suitability tests, leverage limits, enhanced risk disclosures and a possible certification regime for DeFi lending protocols’ resilience against cyberattacks as safeguards for crypto borrowing and lending.
Its approach puts two connected issues before the European Commission: the risks of crypto lending and the role of firms that give customers access to DeFi lending protocols.
These remain potential measures rather than settled standards. Whether they proceed, and in what form, will depend on the wider MiCA review and subsequent legislative choices by EU institutions.
Multi-issuer stablecoin risks
The EBA separately highlighted risks linked to third-country multi-issuer stablecoin schemes. It said such arrangements could pose significant to very significant risks and called for regulatory changes to strengthen the framework governing them, according to the authority’s September 24 announcement.
That concern is distinct from the proposed treatment of lending and DeFi access. It focuses on arrangements involving multiple issuers and third countries, indicating that the EBA sees cross-border stablecoin structures as a separate gap for the MiCA review to examine.
The authority provided a snapshot of authorization activity under MiCA as of September 1, 2026. It said 39 electronic money tokens had been issued under the regulation, while no asset-referenced tokens had been authorized.
Under MiCA, electronic money tokens and asset-referenced tokens are separate categories. The reported figures do not explain why no asset-referenced tokens had been authorized; they instead provide the regulatory backdrop for the EBA’s focus on stablecoin arrangements.
The EBA’s submission places crypto lending, DeFi gateways and multi-issuer stablecoins alongside asset classification and reporting on the Commission’s review agenda. A September 25 financial-regulation update from BBVA Research also listed the authority’s priorities and noted that the response formed part of the Commission’s ongoing MiCA review process.
