EU Review Sparks Fears of Stricter Staking Regulations

The European Commission's MiCA review consultation is examining whether Europe's treatment of staking is adequate, which could lead to new requirements for companies providing staking services.

The question on page 36 of the MiCA review asks if the current rules are sufficient and what additional regulations might be needed. The consultation remains open until September 30 at 23:59 CEST, but it's too early to say what changes might result from it.

The distinction between proprietary staking (where users stake their own assets directly with a blockchain) and staking-as-a-service (where companies take custody of customer assets and stake them for the customer) is already in place. MiCA governs custodial staking, but regulators are now asking if this distinction still works.

A standalone staking regime could lead to more specific rules around slashing, withdrawal delays, fees, and who bears the loss when something goes wrong. Providers might be required to explain how they choose validator operators and what happens if one of them fails operationally. Withdrawal terms could become more formal, and reward advertising might need to be separated from complicated combinations of protocol issuance, validator performance, fees, and temporary incentives.