Cardano Foundation Urges EU to Keep DeFi and Staking Outside MiCA Expansion

The Cardano Foundation has urged the European Commission not to expand MiCA to cover decentralized finance (DeFi), staking, or direct protocol participation.

The Foundation filed its formal consultation response on September 30, 2026, and published the full 19-page document on October 21. Its core message is clear: more regulation does not automatically mean better regulation.

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Cardano Argues Staking Should Stay Outside MiCA’s Reach

At the heart of the Foundation’s argument is Cardano’s unique staking model. ADA holders can delegate their stake to support network consensus without transferring custody or locking their tokens.

This, the Foundation argues, is fundamentally different from intermediary-run staking services where a provider takes custody of client assets.

Treating both the same way under expanded MiCA rules would be disproportionate.

The Foundation’s Senior Legal Counsel, Benjamin Buergi, submitted the response to the European Commission, warning that creating separate regulatory regimes for decentralized technology would impose unnecessary burdens without addressing real risks.

It would harm the security, resilience, and decentralization of proof-of-stake networks, without any corresponding benefit to investors or the financial system.

The Foundation also warned against over-classifying NFTs, hybrid tokens, and prediction markets under the existing framework.

It called on regulators to “follow the substance of an activity, the functions performed, and the risks created”, not the technology involved.

That view aligns with concerns Circle raised in its own call to adjust MiCA rules, where the stablecoin issuer noted that only 3 of the top 30 stablecoins complied with the current framework.

This intervention arrives at a critical moment. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has floated additional safeguards around staking, lending, and access to DeFi protocols.

The Foundation’s filing directly counters that push. European Commission adviser Peter Kerstens had earlier outlined what comes next after MiCA, signaling that a second phase of the rulebook remains likely as markets evolve.

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What This Means for ADA Investors and EU Crypto Policy

For ADA investors, the Cardano Foundation’s position carries real practical weight. A favorable outcome, keeping non-custodial delegation outside expanded MiCA rules, would preserve broad retail and institutional participation in network security.

It would also reduce regulatory overhead that could otherwise slow institutional onboarding.

Germany’s DZ Bank recently secured MiCAR approval to offer institutional Bitcoin and Cardano trading, a sign that institutional appetite for ADA exposure under clear regulatory frameworks is already building.

The Foundation has also been working to deepen Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem. That effort gained momentum earlier this year when the Foundation pledged eight-figure ADA liquidity for stablecoin projects, a move designed to close the gap with Ethereum and Solana.

Lighter-touch MiCA rules on protocol participation would directly support that strategy, making it easier for users who retain control of their assets to participate in the ecosystem without regulatory friction.

Markets have not reacted sharply to the filing, which is typical for policy consultation responses. However, the Commission’s eventual conclusions on the MiCA review, expected in the coming months, will shape the EU’s crypto landscape for years.

Investors should monitor follow-up signals from ESMA alongside Cardano-specific catalysts such as the Leios mainnet release.