The EBA wants intermediated crypto lending added to MiCA’s list of regulated services. Firms that connect EU clients to DeFi lending protocols could face suitability tests, leverage limits an
The European Banking Authority has asked Brussels to bring crypto lending under MiCA. In its response to the European Commission’s targeted consultation on the regulation, published on September 24, the EBA recommended adding intermediated crypto borrowing and lending to MiCA’s list of regulated services, including cases where crypto-asset service providers give clients access to DeFi lending protocols. The recommendation arrives six days before the consultation closes on September 30.
The EBA asks the Commission to run a cost-benefit analysis first, then consider making lending intermediation a licensed service with its own compliance and supervisory requirements. Firms that route EU clients to DeFi lending protocols would face user suitability tests, leverage limits and additional disclosures. The authority also floated restrictions on lending that involves asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens requiring MiCA authorisation.
Crypto lending already runs in at least 16 member states, and the EBA says crypto firms and AI tools are erasing the practical difference between centralised and decentralised finance. The call stands out because the same response judged MiCA’s rules for stablecoin issuers broadly appropriate. It did flag one exception: the minimum share of reserves issuers must keep as bank deposits should be reviewed. As of September 1, 39 e-money tokens had been issued under MiCA and no asset-referenced token had been authorised.
MiCA today vs. the EBA’s proposed expansion 1Lending and borrowing TodayNot a MiCA service; national law applies EBA proposalIntermediation becomes a licensed MiCA service 2DeFi access TodayFully decentralised services outside scope EBA proposalCASPs may route clients only to certified protocols 3Retail safeguards TodayWhite papers, conduct and market abuse rules EBA proposalSuitability tests, leverage caps, extra disclosures 4Stablecoins in lending TodayDirect interest on EMTs and ARTs banned EBA proposalLimits on lending involving authorised ARTs and EMTsThe gap is deliberate. MiCA was negotiated while Celsius, Voyager and BlockFi were failing in 2022, and lending stayed out of the final text. Article 142 instead obliged the Commission to report on DeFi and on crypto lending and borrowing, and the current consultation feeds that report together with the general review under Article 140, and the current consultation feeds that report. The EBA has not created a rule. It has told the Commission what the report should conclude.
A DeFi lending pool is a set of smart contracts, usually without an issuer, board or registered office that a regulator could license, which is why MiCA exempts services provided in a fully decentralised manner. The EBA’s scheme works around that. A licensed CASP could connect EU clients only to certified protocols, so the protocol never needs a licence, but its reach through regulated channels depends on passing a review.
The response does not detail the certification criteria. A workable scheme would have to examine who can upgrade the contract code, where price oracles source their data and how liquidations behave when collateral cannot be sold quickly.
The leverage caps target that liquidation mechanism. Once collateral falls below a set threshold, the protocol closes the position automatically, and users who loop deposits to multiply exposure can lose most of their collateral in a single move. AI agents widen the problem, since one instruction can now spread funds across several protocols the user never examined.
MiCA’s maximum transitional period for providers operating under national regimes ended on July 1, 2026, so every firm serving EU clients with crypto services now needs a MiCA licence. Months earlier, the EBA’s no-action letter on the PSD2 and MiCA overlap required firms handling e-money tokens for payments to obtain matching payment authorisation by March 2. With both gaps closed, lending remains one of the few services a licensed CASP can still run under national law or no specific regime at all.
• June 30, 2024 Rules for stablecoin issuers start to apply • December 30, 2024 MiCA applies in full, including CASP licensing • MARCH 2, 2026 PSD2/MiCA no-action deadline for EMT payment services • May 20, 2026 Commission opens the targeted MiCA review consultation • July 1, 2026 Transitional period for legacy national providers ends • September 22, 2026 ESCB asks for the stablecoin bank deposit rule to be replaced • September 24, 2026 EBA calls for crypto lending and DeFi access to come under MiCA • September 30, 2026 Consultation closesTwo days before the EBA, the European System of Central Banks asked the Commission to drop the requirement that stablecoin issuers hold at least 30% of reserves as bank deposits, or 60% for significant tokens. The central banks argue the rule moves stablecoin stress straight into banks, because a redemption wave forces the issuer to pull its deposits within hours. They propose liquidity buckets instead, with minimum shares of reserves maturing within one and five working days, and cite the March 2023 run on USDC after Circle disclosed $3.3 billion held at Silicon Valley Bank.
Both responses target yield. The ESCB wants MiCA’s interest ban on stablecoins kept and extended to indirect returns paid through lending or staking. The EBA’s proposed limits on lending with authorised ARTs and EMTs would shut the same channel from the service provider side.
Nothing changes before the Commission reports, but the likely shape is already visible. Exchanges and brokers offering earn or borrow products would need a new authorisation, with suitability checks built into onboarding and leverage set by regulation rather than internal risk limits. Protocols would have to decide whether EU distribution justifies an external review of their code and governance. Users who interact directly from self-custody wallets would stay outside the proposal, which targets intermediaries only, and the ESCB has already warned that non-compliant firms still reach EU customers.
After September 30, the Commission reviews the submissions, publishes those cleared for release and drafts its report with input from the EBA and ESMA. Who would supervise a lending regime is still open. National authorities license CASPs today, while the ESCB’s response backs moving authorisation and enforcement for all CASPs to ESMA, and the Commission already proposed in December 2025 to hand ESMA supervision of the largest ones. Any amendment would then need approval from the European Parliament and the Council, a process that took close to three years for the original regulation.
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