TechFlow reports that on June 18, according to CoinDesk, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) released a discussion paper exploring how decentralized finance (DeFi) could be incorporated into the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. The MFSA noted that while MiCA exempts crypto-asset services that are “fully decentralized,” many DeFi projects still retain centralized features—such as administrator keys, centralized governance, and protocol upgrade privileges.
The regulator is seeking public input on whether decentralization should be viewed as a spectrum rather than a binary concept, and is also discussing whether a standardized framework should be established to determine whether a given protocol falls outside MiCA’s regulatory scope. Additionally, the paper proposes potential legal structures—including decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and cell companies—and examines automated compliance mechanisms such as custodial agents. The consultation period for this discussion paper ends on July 10.
