MiCA is coming for DeFi vaults, but regulation will be difficult

Brussels is reviewing whether crypto lending should fall under MiCA, but DeFi lending vaults are making it harder to determine who, exactly, should be regulated.

MiCA left crypto lending outside its original rulebook — but now Brussels is considering whether to bring it in.

On May 20, 2026, the European Commission asked stakeholders to weigh in on areas left outside the original Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework. These include issues around decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto lending and borrowing.

One area of contention involves lending vaults, which can channel billions of dollars into onchain credit markets without looking like conventional lending. Their legal status currently depends on non binding interpretations that they fall outside of MiCA and EU fund rules.

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