On 18 June 2026, ESMA published Q&A 2883 as part of its MiCA questions and answers update cycle. The Q&A sets out ESMA's definitive interpretive position: lending and borrowing of crypto-assets are not specific cryptoasset activities regulated under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA). ESMA cites Recital 94, which expressly states that MiCA should not apply to crypto-asset lending and borrowing as discrete activities.
Recital 94 of MiCA states that the regulation should not apply to crypto-asset lending and borrowing. Q&A 2883 confirms this exclusion operates at the service-type level: lending and borrowing as stand-alone services fall outside MiCA authorisation. CASPs that offer lending services alongside MiCA-authorised activities remain bound by the general conduct requirements of MiCA, including acting honestly, fairly, and professionally in clients' best interests, and ensuring all communications, including marketing, are fair, clear, and not misleading. ESMA directs firms to its Statement on avoiding misperceptions when CASPs offer unregulated services alongside regulated services.
CASPs operating lending programmes, yield product providers, and crypto-native lenders must assess whether their lending structures trigger alternative regulatory regimes. ESMA notes in Q&A 2883 that certain lending arrangements may fall within the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD, Directive 2011/61/EU) depending on their structural features, creating AIFM authorisation requirements. MiCA's safeguarding requirements under Article 70 do not apply to assets placed in lending programmes, exposing clients to counterparty risk, collateral shortfall risk, and risk of loss of access to lent assets on CASP insolvency. These risks must be disclosed to clients clearly and separately from disclosures covering MiCA-regulated services.
Q&A 2883 does not address national consumer credit or banking frameworks, which vary across EU member states and may independently apply to certain crypto lending products. Firms marketing lending products to retail clients must review product disclosures to avoid creating the impression that lending services carry the same investor protections as MiCA-regulated crypto-asset services.
We advise CASPs, crypto-asset lenders, and institutional investors on MiCA scope analysis, AIFMD qualification assessments for digital asset structures, and lending product disclosure design. Our partner network includes specialist EU regulatory counsel across member state jurisdictions. Work we undertake includes MiCA regulatory analysis, CASP compliance programmes, AIFMD qualification assessments, and EU crypto-asset product structuring.
Source: ESMA Q&A 2883, Questions and Answers on the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), 18 June 2026