MiCA Regulation Leaves Staking Providers in Regulatory Limbo

With MiCA regulation in effect since July 1, 2026, staking providers face uncertainty due to the lack of clear guidelines on licensing. Recital 21 of the regulation groups crypto-asset services into two categories, but staking is not explicitly mentioned.

However, it's not entirely unregulated. The licensing requirement attaches to what the provider actually does, rather than the label on the product. Most staking offerings aimed at retail investors involve at least one listed activity, such as custody and administration of crypto-assets.

Custodial staking, where a third party holds the private keys, is fully subject to authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP). This brings obligations on segregation of client holdings, organisation, complaints handling, and disclosure duties. In Germany, the Crypto Markets Supervision Act provides that a crypto-asset held in custody for a client is deemed to belong to that client.

Non-custodial staking, where the user holds their own keys and delegates directly to a validator, falls outside the scope of MiCA regulation entirely. This means there is no provider that can fail and take the coins with it, but also no supervision or claim against anyone in case of misconfiguration.

In Germany, the grandfathering period under Section 50 KMAG expired on December 31, 2025, which means any provider holding your coins without a valid licence has had a problem since January 1, 2026.