EU Plans MiCA Expansion for Tokenization and Stablecoins
The European Commission is planning to revise MiCA shortly after the regulation took full effect, targeting tokenized assets and non-EU stablecoin issuers. The expansion signals the EU's intent to close regulatory gaps in RWA tokenization and cross-border stablecoin activity.
Yuri Konnov
The review spans 86 questions across four thematic blocks, with the most consequential gaps centering on tokenized assets and foreign stablecoin issuers. When MiCA was originally conceived, policymakers focused primarily on crypto-asset service providers and exchange-like intermediaries; the regulation entered into force in June 2023 but did not anticipate the scale at which traditional financial institutions would begin moving into DLT-based markets. According to Maples Group's MiCA review analysis, no asset-referenced tokens have been licensed in the EU under MiCA after nearly two years of the framework being in effect, and approximately 170 crypto-asset service providers are now listed in the ESMA register across 18 Member States.
The authorization picture for the broader CASP population is similarly thin. As of May 2026, only 17% of EU crypto firms had received full MiCA authorization, a figure that underscores the operational friction the framework has generated even before any expansion of scope. CoinDesk's MiCA deadline coverage noted that the Commission initiated the consultation in part because newer regulatory frameworks in other major markets — including a proposed U.S. federal stablecoin framework — have changed the international regulatory calculus, raising concerns about regulatory arbitrage if non-EU issuers can operate under looser rules.
The tokenized asset market has grown materially since MiCA's drafting phase concluded. On-chain tokenized stocks reached an approximate market value of $2.16 billion as of mid-2026, reflecting a nearly 45% month-on-month increase, according to Crypto Briefing's aggregation of market data. That growth trajectory is part of what prompted the Commission to acknowledge the framework needs revision even before the ink on the current text had fully dried.
The European Parliament moved in parallel. On July 7, 2026, the Parliament adopted a digital assets policy position calling on the Commission to assess activities that currently sit outside MiCA's scope entirely — including decentralised finance, crypto lending and borrowing, staking, and non-fungible tokens. The European Parliament's digital assets position paper represents a legislative signal that the review will need to address a wider perimeter than the Commission's consultation alone covers.
The ESMA register, which Articles 109 and 110 of MiCA empowered the authority to publish by December 30, 2024, provides the central compliance infrastructure against which any expanded scope would be enforced. ESMA's MiCA regulatory page lists authorized service providers, white papers, and non-compliant entities — a registry that would need to expand significantly if tokenized RWA issuers and non-EU stablecoin operators are brought within the perimeter.
According to Crypto Briefing's MiCA expansion report, the Commission is giving stakeholders until September 30, 2026 to submit input, a deadline that differs slightly from the August 31 cutoff cited by Maples Group for the targeted consultation track — suggesting the two parallel processes carry separate submission windows. The Genfinity MiCA enforcement analysis confirmed the 86-question structure of the targeted review and identified the four thematic blocks as the primary vehicle for addressing the original text's structural omissions.
What the consultation process has not established is equally significant. The Commission has not published draft legislative text, named specific tokenized asset categories that would be brought within scope, or identified which non-EU stablecoin issuers would face new authorization requirements. The review does not set a timeline for a formal legislative proposal — the June 2027 report deadline is a precondition for any such proposal, not a commitment to one. Compliance officers and fund managers evaluating EU market access for tokenized RWA products therefore have no regulatory certainty on scope, thresholds, or transition arrangements until at minimum mid-2027.
