Is it just me, or is the EU falling behind hard in everything now

For some time now it’s become concerning where the EU is heading when it comes to crypto and financial innovation. While the US and Asia seem to be competing for capital, talent and relevance, the EU feels like it is stuck in bureaucracy mode. Endless committees, slow decision-making and regulations that are more about control than enablement.

MiCA and now DAC8 really brought this into focus for me. On paper they are about clarity and consumer protection, but in practice they look like more reporting, more surveillance and more friction for anyone trying to use crypto seriously.

What worries me most is long-term competitiveness. Crypto moves fast, capital moves even faster. When builders, traders and long-term holders feel watched, constrained and overregulated, they usually do not fight it, they leave. At the same time Asia is actively positioning itself as crypto-friendly and the US seems to be moving toward structured acceptance rather than blanket hostility.

Most people will probably shrug and say this is just another annoying regulation we will have to live with. Imho this is more like the slow end of any meaningful financial freedom in the EU.

I got into crypto for two very simple reasons. First, inflation – I work, sometimes overtime, sometimes extra shifts, just to cover rent, food and basic life necessities. Whatever I manage to save gets eventually eaten away, because the money printers never stop. Saving in fiat just feels pointless long term.

Second – freedom, traditional banking is absurd in 2026. High fees, international transfers that take days, random restrictions and constant issues. With crypto, transfers settle in minutes, fees are negligible and you can actually use your money globally. I have personally experienced how much smoother it is to move and spend funds abroad using crypto-native platforms like Nexo, compared to dealing with banks asking questions, delaying transfers or just outright freezing my account "for review"…

That is why MiCA and DAC8 bother me so much. These legislations are not protection, they are simply an attempt to drag crypto back into the same slow, monitored, permission-based system people were trying to opt out of in the first place. When you start needing to report everything, justify everything and be tracked constantly, the whole point disappears.

Maybe I am overreacting, but when I look at how Asia and even the US are positioning themselves, it really does make me question whether the EU still wants builders and long-term thinkers or whether it just wants compliance and to leech off its "citizens" as much as possible.