EBA pushes for MiCA expansion to cover DeFi lending gateways
CIE News ·
EU regulators are considering adding DeFi loan intermediaries to MiCA rules, potentially requiring front-end interfaces to enforce leverage caps, suitability tests, and cyber certifications.
The European Banking Authority asked the European Commission to evaluate expanding Markets in Crypto-Assets rules to cover firms that intermediate DeFi borrowing and lending, CryptoSlate reported. In its September 24 response to a regulatory consultation, the banking watchdog recommended analyzing whether customer-facing interfaces and products that provide access to decentralized protocols should be regulated as Crypto-Asset Service Providers.
Under the potential framework, operators connecting retail users to on-chain lending protocols could face suitability assessments, mandatory risk disclosures, and leverage restrictions. The authority also proposed exploring technical cybersecurity certifications for lending protocols and suggested banning regulated service providers from facilitating loans involving unauthorized asset-referenced or e-money tokens.
The recommendations do not alter existing rules immediately, as the European Commission must review the proposals following its September 30 consultation deadline. Any eventual framework would target corporate-controlled access points rather than autonomous on-chain smart contracts, leaving potential legislation to define how direct interactions will be addressed.