On July 7, the European Parliament approved a policy document defining the bloc's future strategy in the digital assets sector. The report, titled "Digital Assets – Challenges for the Competitiveness and Integrity of the EU Financial System," formalizes the legislators' official stance, although it does not introduce direct amendments to the MiCA regulation or create new legal obligations for market participants.

The key signal of the document is the need to extend regulation to sectors that remain outside the MiCA framework. These include:

  • Decentralized Finance (DeFi);
  • Crypto lending and borrowing;
  • Staking;
  • Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

This decision comes immediately after the end of the MiCA transitional period on July 1, when all crypto companies in the EU switched to mandatory licensing. The main motivation for politicians is to prevent fragmentation of the single market, where individual bloc countries begin creating their own local rules.

Notably, alongside tightening controls, regulators expressed support for innovation. The European Parliament approved the development of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and the use of euro stablecoins, emphasizing that with a competent approach, they can enhance the competitiveness of the EU's financial system.

Public consultations on a possible expansion of MiCA will begin in May 2026. Their goal is to gather feedback on potential changes to the regulation's structure, including the inclusion of additional types of crypto activities and a review of restrictions related to yield-bearing stablecoins.

Binance's Position: Playing Ahead of the Curve

Against this backdrop, on June 24, Binance withdrew its application for a MiCA license in Greece. The exchange stated its intention to obtain authorization in another EU country but did not disclose which one. On July 4, co-CEO Richard Teng clarified the situation:

"Binance is not leaving Europe and is not abandoning MiCA. Europe remains an important market for us. We are committed to finding a constructive path forward through proper channels, in good faith and in cooperation with authorities. We look forward to announcing the approval of our MiCA license in due course."

Teng also noted that Europe has a chance to become a global leader in digital asset regulation, but this requires predictable, proportionate, and consistent implementation. He expressed hope that fragmented implementation of MiCA would not lead to missing this opportunity.

Recall that on June 29, crypto exchange Bybit warned about the phased restriction of some services on its global platform for residents of the European Economic Area.

Analytical Commentary: Expanding MiCA to DeFi and NFTs is a logical but extremely complex step. Decentralized protocols by nature lack a single legal entity, making traditional licensing practically inapplicable. The European Parliament seems to recognize this by initiating public consultations two years before potential changes. The market should prepare for a long period of uncertainty, especially for projects operating at the intersection of DeFi and traditional finance.