Malta proposes DeFi rulebook covering DAOs under MiCA-era framework

The MFSA outlines the scope of the DeFi discussion paper. Source: MFSA Related: DAOs may need to ditch decentralization to court institutions Malta's discussion paper comes amid a broader push across the European Union to clarify how decentralized finance and decentralized autonomous organizations should be treated under MiCA. In March, a European Central Bank working paper found that governance and control across four major DeFi protocols remained highly concentrated, suggesting many projects may struggle to qualify as “fully decentralized” and therefore fall outside MiCA's scope. The debate continued in May, when the European Commission launched a targeted review of MiCA seeking feedback on issues including stablecoin interest payments, the treatment of DeFi and whether gaps in the framework warrant additional regulation. However, not everyone believes a new DeFi rulebook is necessary. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the WAIB Summit Monaco earlier this month, European Commission adviser Peter Kerstens said policymakers should prioritize integrating tokenization into a broader digital asset framework rather than pursuing a second version of MiCA focused on DeFi. European Commission adviser Peter Kerstens (right) speaks with Cointelegraph’s Zoltan Vardai. Source: WAIB Summit 2026 Related: Crypto firms face July 1 EU cutoff as MiCA grace period ends More on the subject