2026-05-23
MiCAR and DeFi. The Perimeter.
MiCAR has entered its applicative phase. Edge-cases remain open: DeFi, staking, lending, borrowing, non-custodial wallets and access interfaces to decentralised protocols. The question is not whether a smart contract underlies the activity, but whether — in substance — a subject provides, organises or controls a crypto service to European users.
Abstract
MiCAR has entered its applicative phase. Edge-cases remain open: DeFi, staking, lending, borrowing, non-custodial wallets and access interfaces to decentralised protocols. The question is not whether a smart contract underlies the activity, but whether — in substance — a subject provides, organises or controls a crypto service to European users.
Key takeaways
- 01MiCAR Recital 22 does not establish a general safe harbour for DeFi: it is a boundary to be verified case by case
- 02On-chain execution is not enough. Full decentralisation requires the absence of any identifiable subject controlling, organising or extracting value
- 03Joint EBA/ESMA Report 16 January 2025: full decentralisation is empirically rare — most protocols show identifiable entities
- 04Qualification follows actual function, not commercial naming. Front-ends, wallets and aggregators may fall within MiCAR as CASPs if they provide regulated services; mere providers of non-custodial wallets are excluded
- 05Operational test: who controls the interface, the protocols, the fees, the relationship with the user — four questions before launch
Slides
Content prepared with the support of artificial-intelligence tools and reviewed by the Firm's professionals.