Brussels consults on widening MiCA to capture tokenisation and offshore stablecoins

The European Commission has opened a targeted consultation on whether to widen the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, focusing on two areas its landmark framework may not yet adequately cover: tokenised real-world assets and stablecoin issuers based outside the bloc. The consultation, published on 20 May 2026, invites industry feedback on how MiCA is functioning in practice and where its scope leaves gaps, according to coincu.com.

MiCA took full effect in late 2024, establishing a single licensing and compliance regime for crypto-asset issuers and service providers across the EU. Its rollout has so far produced dozens of authorised stablecoin issuers and hundreds of licensed platforms, custodians and trading venues. The Commission’s review signals that Brussels now regards this first-generation framework as a starting point rather than a finished product.

Tokenisation exposes a regulatory seam

The first area under scrutiny is tokenisation — the representation of assets such as bonds, real estate or fund shares as blockchain-based tokens. MiCA was drafted primarily with crypto-native assets in mind, and the Commission’s consultation document asks stakeholders where tokenised instruments might fall between MiCA and existing financial services law, particularly the MiFID II directive.

A tokenised bond, for example, can simultaneously meet MiFID II’s definition of a financial instrument and MiCA’s definition of a crypto-asset, creating classification uncertainty for issuers and supervisors alike. The Commission is asking whether a dedicated sub-category for tokenised financial instruments should be created, or whether existing definitions can be stretched to cover them.

The question is not academic for market infrastructure providers. The DTCC has been developing tokenised-asset trading capabilities with input from BlackRock and Circle, according to the report, underscoring that institutional appetite for tokenisation is running ahead of settled regulatory treatment. A parallel push is under way in the United States, where the SEC’s 2026 rulemaking agenda has also placed tokenised securities near the top of its priorities.

Offshore stablecoin issuers under review

The second strand of the consultation addresses stablecoin issuers headquartered outside the EU that nonetheless serve European users. MiCA currently requires issuers serving the bloc to be established and authorised within it, but enforcement against offshore issuers has been uneven in practice. Major dollar-denominated stablecoins issued by non-EU companies continue to circulate widely on European exchanges and in wallets, the report notes.

The Commission is asking whether additional supervisory tools are needed to bring these issuers up to equivalent standards, or whether market access should simply be restricted more tightly. Either route would mark a tightening of the perimeter around dollar-pegged tokens that have so far operated in a grey zone relative to MiCA’s authorisation requirements.

What it means for issuers and platforms

If the consultation results in an expanded MiCA text, tokenisation projects operating in the EU could face specific authorisation requirements, disclosure rules tailored to the underlying asset class, and consumer-protection obligations extending to smart contract design. For stablecoin issuers, the outcome could determine whether offshore dollar tokens retain unrestricted access to EU markets or face new compliance hurdles to keep serving European users.

Read more: Brussels moves to revise MiCA as US stablecoin law reshapes global rulebook