A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology companies is pressing lawmakers to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a collaborative letter, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and fintech associations from multiple EU countries have urged the European Commission and Parliament to detach the digital ledger technology pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review.
According to the signatories, isolating the rules would enable more rapid updates, as reported by Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, initiated in 2023, permits firms to experiment with tokenized versions of assets such as shares and bonds, utilizing blockchains for trading and settlement.
The pilot is part of a larger set of 18 financial laws proceeding through the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups claim may take several years. The coalition is advocating for practical amendments, including the expansion of permitted asset types, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros ($176 billion), and eliminating license expiry dates.
These changes, they argue, would provide firms with the necessary flexibility to establish substantial markets rather than limited trials. The letter coincides with the US shaping laws to regulate the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at further integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package collectively as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.