What just happened?
The European Commission has closed its public consultation on how the MiCA framework (Markets in Crypto-Assets, the EU's single set of rules for crypto-assets) works in practice. According to CryptoSvet.cz, the consultation ran from 20 May 2026, and the deadline for submissions, originally set later, was moved up by the Commission to 30 September 2026. The consultation's outputs are meant to feed into reports the Commission is required to submit by June 2027.
The Commission gathered input from crypto-industry businesses, national regulators, and the public. This is a review of whether the existing rules work and whether they need to change. For now the process is in the collection and evaluation phase, not at the stage of finished legislative proposals.
Who weighed in on the consultation, and what did they want?
In the final days before the deadline, a number of specific submissions emerged. Below is an overview based on what the individual sources report.
| Actor | What the submission concerns | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid (policy group) | Bring perpetual contracts (perps) under the MiFID II regime | The Block |
| Circle | Targeting MiCA's requirement on bank reserves for stablecoins (bank deposit floor) | The Block |
| Campaign of 50,000 Europeans | Ease restrictions on stablecoin rewards | Cointelegraph |
| EU central banks | Broader changes to stablecoin rules | Cointelegraph |
| ESMA | A new regulated category for firms connecting clients with DeFi, plus targeted rules for staking and lending | The Defiant |
The submission from the European regulator ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) is particularly significant. According to The Defiant, in its response to the Commission's review, ESMA proposes introducing a new regulated category for firms that give clients access to DeFi (so-called DeFi gateways, i.e. doorways into decentralized finance), along with targeted requirements for staking and lending.
On the other side is pressure from business and the public. The Block reports that a policy group around the Hyperliquid exchange is pushing for perps to fall under MiFID II, while Circle is focused on how MiCA sets bank reserves for stablecoins. Cointelegraph then describes a campaign in which, according to its organizers, 50,000 Europeans are calling on Brussels to reconsider the rules on stablecoin rewards, while some EU central banks are also seeking a broader revision of stablecoin rules.
Why does it matter?
MiCA is the first comprehensive European framework for crypto-assets, and this review is the first major opportunity to fine-tune it after deployment. The submissions reveal a basic tension: regulators like ESMA want to expand the reach of the rules (to DeFi, staking, and lending), while part of the industry and part of the public are asking for specific restrictions to be eased (stablecoin rewards, reserve requirements, the classification of perps).
It is important to stick to the facts about the timeline. The fact that someone proposes or requests something does not mean the Commission will adopt it. Consultation submissions are inputs, not outcomes.
What is not yet known?
The sources do not answer how the Commission will evaluate individual inputs, which proposals (if any) will lead to changes in the MiCA text, or whether and when a specific legislative amendment will come after June 2027. We also do not know the exact number of all submissions or their full content. The fixed date is the Commission's obligation to submit the reports by June 2027.
What to watch in this type of process?
For regulatory reviews of this kind, it pays to watch three things: (1) the Commission's official reports, once published, and whether they include specific points from the consultation; (2) the positions of ESMA and national regulators, since these carry significant weight in practice; (3) the gap between what actors propose and what actually makes it into a draft regulation. charliedesk is logging this process and will return to it once the Commission submits its reports, so we can compare the inputs with the output.