MiCA's Blind Spot: Tokenized Assets Struggle for Classification

The European Union's MiCA regulation, which came into effect on July 1, 2026, was supposed to provide clarity for the cryptocurrency industry. However, for teams working with tokenized real-world assets, the first step is figuring out whether MiCA even applies.

According to Skadden's analysis of the EU's MiCA review in June 2026, many RWA projects are still unsure about their classification under the regulation. The reason lies in the fact that MiCA was designed as a catch-all for crypto-assets not covered by existing EU financial law. If a token falls under traditional finance rules, such as securities, bonds, or fund shares, MiCA explicitly steps aside.

The EU's approach to regulating blockchain-based assets is based on economic substance rather than the technology used to issue or transfer them. This means that if a token represents something that already exists in traditional finance, it falls under existing frameworks like MiFID II and the Prospectus Regulation.

The grey zone between MiCA and traditional securities law reflects a genuine tension at the heart of how the EU built its regulatory framework. The European Commission is wrestling with this issue as they review MiCA and consider whether all assets that live on a blockchain should fall under MiCA, regardless of their economic nature.