The Policy Layer
The Policy Layer
Owl Explains
Ep 64: When Tokens Don't Fit the Rules: LSTs & MiCA
29 minutes Posted Apr 1, 2026 at 9:57 am.
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Show notes
Liquid staking tokens may sound like a niche corner of crypto, but they raise a much bigger question: can regulation actually keep up with decentralized systems? Juan Ignacio Ibañez of the MiCA Crypto Alliance dicusses why LSTs are so hard to classify under MiCA, and why that ambiguity creates real compliance risk for platforms and service providers. The conversation moves beyond labels to a deeper issue: what happens when existing rules are built for assets with issuers, managers, and clearer boundaries than Web3 often provides.
Crypto-asset Taxonomy for Investors and Regulators [https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05098]