Why the EU’s MiCA Architect Believes Tokenization Could Outshine DeFi Regulations—And What It Means for the Future of Finance

Ever wondered if the EU could skip the usual crypto rulebook remix and instead shoot for a bold, wide-angle lens on digital assets? Well, that’s exactly the buzz swirling around the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation—or MiCA for short. Peter Kerstens, one of the brains behind MiCA, threw down a challenge: why harp on about regulating decentralized finance (DeFi) again when maybe, just maybe, the future beckons us to focus on real-world assets and tokenization under a broader framework? It’s a fascinating pivot, especially as the MiCA clock ticks down to its July 1 deadline, nudging crypto players to get their licenses or hit pause on EU services. DeFi, elusive and decentralized—or so it claims—might just be the wild card that lawmakers aren’t quite ready to tame, given it’s a movement without a clear head or hands to hold. So, the question remains: when it comes to crypto regulations, is it time to rewrite the rules entirely, or are we just polishing the same old playbook? Dive into the consultation wave shaping Europe’s next big crypto moves. LEARN MORE.

The European Union should focus on a broader digital asset framework covering real-world assets and tokenization instead of regulating decentralized finance through a second version of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), an adviser at the European Commission said.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on MiCA in May, seeking feedback through Aug. 31.

“I do not believe that [MiCA] is outdated now. That’s my personal opinion, but it does not matter. That’s why we have this consultation,” Peter Kerstens told Cointelegraph during a fireside chat at WAIB Summit Monaco 2026.

Kerstens, one of MiCA’s architects, said that the feedback received during the European Commission’s current review period will help shape the bloc’s next regulatory steps.

MiCA is approaching 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.

EU doesn’t need to regulate DeFi, says MiCA architect

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols were included among the emerging risk areas examined in the consultation, even though they are largely outside MiCA’s current scope.

An excerpt from the public consultation on the MiCA review. Source: European Commission

However, Kerstens said regulating DeFi would be difficult because laws can be applied to people and organizations, but not directly to computer networks. He said lawmakers would need a new legal doctrine to regulate non-entities.

Kerstens added that he doesn’t see a need to regulate DeFi, which he described as a “movement” that has “no representatives.”

“I don’t see what the problem is. And if there is no problem, why should it be regulated?”

Earlier in March, a working paper from the European Central Bank questioned whether decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are decentralized enough to remain outside MiCA’s scope. Looking at 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 these findings question whether DAOs are inherently decentralized and whether they should remain outside of the MiCA regulation as “fully decentralized” services.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight