The Cardano Foundation has formally submitted its response to the European Commission's consultation reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCAR. The submission, dated October 21, 2026, sets out recommendations on how the framework should evolve as regulators assess its effectiveness.
The Foundation emphasized technological neutrality, proportionality, and regulation based on actual functions and risks rather than the underlying technology. It argued that the existing distinction between MiCAR and established European financial-services legislation, particularly MiFID II, should remain in place. According to the response, an asset's classification should depend on its substantive characteristics rather than how it is technically represented.
The submission also called for greater legal clarity around hybrid tokens, changing asset characteristics, and differing interpretations among EU Member States. However, the Cardano Foundation stressed that improving legal certainty should not require expanding regulatory scope or creating unnecessary overlaps between frameworks.
A major portion of the response examined decentralized finance, staking, and participation in public blockchain infrastructure. The Foundation recommended against introducing separate regulatory regimes simply because decentralized technology is involved. Instead, it advocated regulating identifiable parties that perform controlled functions or exercise meaningful authority over assets and transactions.
On staking, the Foundation noted that Cardano users can delegate stake to support network consensus and security without giving up custody of their assets or locking them. It argued that direct protocol-level participation should be distinguished from staking services that involve custody or discretionary management. The response also opposed expanding MiCAR's regulatory perimeter through new standalone frameworks for DeFi, staking, or other protocol-level participation.
