The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) advanced a resolution Friday urging the European Commission to bring decentralized finance, crypto staking, and non-fungible tokens under dedicated regulatory frameworks. The move aligns with the July 1 expiration of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) transitional period, after which all digital asset service providers require formal authorization to operate across the bloc.
Drafted by Belgian MEP Johan Van Overtveldt, the own-initiative report now heads to a full plenary vote scheduled for July 7. While the resolution will not immediately amend current MiCA laws, it formalizes the Parliament’s policy stance as regulators look to expand oversight, according to a report by Cointelegraph detailing the committee vote.
Consolidating the Digital Euro
The committee explicitly endorsed the development of euro-denominated stablecoins. Lawmakers stated these assets could complement tokenized commercial bank deposits and strengthen the international utility of the euro in cross-border transactions.
The report warned member states against drafting fragmented, national-level requirements beyond the centralized MiCA framework, arguing that isolated regulations would disrupt the level playing field for firms operating within the European Union.
This push for unified stablecoin integration coincides with a broader shift in traditional monetary policy toward digital assets. Just days before the ECON vote, Bank for International Settlements general manager Agustín Carstens publicly relaxed his historically critical stance on stablecoins. Earlier in the week, ECON lawmakers also backed legislation for a dedicated digital euro, asserting that public and private digital money must coexist.
Why the 2023 Banking Turmoil Still Drives EU Policy
The push to capture DeFi and staking within formal regulatory boundaries traces directly to the 2023 collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature Bank. Van Overtveldt previously pushed for stringent structural restrictions following that crisis, which temporarily caused Circle’s USDC to lose its dollar peg after $3.3 billion of its reserves were frozen at SVB.
With the European Commission having launched a public consultation on DeFi and NFT oversight in May, the July 7 plenary vote will signal exactly how aggressive the Parliament plans to be in its next legislative phase. If the resolution passes, it sets a clear mandate for the Commission to draft new binding rules targeting the sectors MiCA initially left untouched.