If MiCA Can Crack DeFi, Its Slow-and-Steady Approach Could Beat CLARITY

Back in the 6th century BC, ancient Greek fabulist Aesop came up with the story The Tortoise and the Hare, which still resonates today. The story’s moral: slow and steady wins the race. I found applying the same logic to crypto regulation quite useful, and more specifically, using it as a basis for comparing US and EU crypto policy.

Two Paths to Regulation

The US CLARITY Act aims to solve the issue of crypto regulation once and for all, including the hardest part of it – DeFi. And that ambition is largely why the process is taking time. By contrast, the European Union took a step-by-step approach, starting with the parts of the market that fit existing regulatory tools.

While slow and steady has real virtues, the axiom may need updating because, in this case at least, the hare is not off course; it just seems to be running a longer track.

MiCA Takes the Lead

The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has had a strong start; it became fully applicable in July 2026, when the last national transition periods for existing providers ended. Meaning centralised crypto platforms finally had a consistent rulebook for licensing pathways and conduct standards to refer to, subsequently leading to a clearer way of operating across the EU.