Roeland Van der Stappen, Coinbase’s head of EU policy, warned that the European Union’s push to oversee decentralized finance could steer users toward less-protected platforms, he told Cointelegraph on November 12.
He was responding to September submissions by two EU regulators to the European Commission’s consultation on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The European Securities and Markets Authority recommended a new category of regulated crypto services for firms that give customers access to DeFi protocols. The European Banking Authority urged the Commission to study new rules for crypto lending and borrowing, including when regulated platforms offer access to DeFi lending protocols, and listed suitability tests among the options.
Van der Stappen said extending suitability tests beyond lending could treat a simple stablecoin swap like leveraged lending despite their different risks. He said lending, liquidity provision and onchain swaps would be most exposed, that some providers could narrow their offerings or withdraw DeFi access, and that splitting liquidity into smaller pools could leave EU users with worse prices. He also said restrictions could encourage walled gardens and push users to non-EU providers with fewer safeguards.
“Rules designed to protect investors would end up pushing activity towards the places with the least protection,” he said. He proposed that crypto-asset service providers keep offering DeFi access, with safeguards matched to each activity. The recommendations are inputs to a consultation, not adopted rules.
Track the market yourself with AiTraderView’s FREE tools: Crypto Cockpit for charts and 75+ indicators, Crypto Screener to find setups, and Crypto Portfolio to follow your holdings. Just create a FREE account and try them yourself!
Sources:
⚠️ RISK WARNING & AI DISCLOSURE
- This information is generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and complex algorithms. While advanced, these systems can contain errors or inaccuracies and are for educational purposes only.
- Technical analysis provides no guarantees; this information is purely informative.
- All discussed scenarios are hypothetical and do not constitute predictions or expectations.
- Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
- This is not financial advice and is not intended as a call-to-action for the reader.
- No implicit direction is claimed, and no specific behavior of market participants is suggested.