A coalition of 39 prominent European financial firms and technology groups is pressing lawmakers to accelerate the reform of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region is in danger of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a collective statement, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and various EU fintech associations have urged the European Commission and Parliament to decouple the digital ledger technology pilot regime from a more extensive package of 18 financial laws currently under review. According to the signatories, handling these rules independently would enable more rapid updates, as reported by Bloomberg.
The DLT pilot, which has been in effect since 2023, permits firms to experiment with the use of blockchains for the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds. Presently, the pilot is part of a broader set of 18 financial laws navigating the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups warn could span several years. The coalition is advocating for practical reforms, including the expansion of permissible assets, the increase of transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the elimination of license expiry dates.
These proposed changes, they argue, would provide firms with the necessary latitude to establish full-fledged markets rather than limited trials. This appeal comes as the US is shaping its regulatory landscape for the sector, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at further integrating cryptocurrency into mainstream finance. The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package collectively as part of its overarching strategy to mobilize savings into investments.