European Commission Adviser Urges Broader Digital Asset Framework Over MiCA 2 for DeFi

A European Commission adviser said the European Union should prioritize a wider digital asset framework focused on real-world assets and tokenization rather than pursuing a second version of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) aimed at decentralized finance. According to Cointelegraph, Peter Kerstens made the remarks during a fireside chat at WAIB Summit Monaco 2026, as the European Commission runs a public consultation on MiCA launched in May that is open for feedback through Aug. 31.

Kerstens, described as one of MiCA’s architects, said he does not believe MiCA is outdated, calling that view his personal opinion, and pointed to the consultation process as the mechanism for assessing the regulation’s effectiveness. He said feedback gathered during the current review period will help shape the bloc’s next regulatory steps. MiCA is nearing the end of its transitional period on July 1, after which crypto asset service providers will be required to hold a MiCA license or stop servicing EU clients.

While decentralized finance protocols were included among emerging risk areas examined in the consultation, they remain largely outside MiCA’s current scope. Kerstens argued that regulating DeFi would be difficult because laws typically apply to people and organizations rather than computer networks, adding that lawmakers would need a new legal doctrine to regulate what he characterized as non-entities. He also said he does not see a need to regulate DeFi, describing it as a “movement” with “no representatives,” and questioned the rationale for regulation in the absence of a clear problem.

Separately, a working paper from the European Central Bank in March raised questions about whether decentralized autonomous organizations are decentralized enough to remain outside MiCA’s scope. Examining Aave, MakerDAO, Ampleforth and Uniswap, the paper found that the top 100 governance token holders controlled over 80% of the supply in each protocol, based on holdings snapshots from November 2022 and May 2023. The authors said the findings challenge whether DAOs are inherently decentralized and whether they should continue to be treated as “fully decentralized” services outside MiCA.