A coalition of European financial and technology companies is pressing lawmakers to accelerate reforms in distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in digital finance unless action is taken. In a joint letter, 39 prominent signatories, including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, have appealed to the European Commission and Parliament to detach the DLT pilot regime from a broader package of 18 financial laws currently under review.
By handling these rules independently, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, enables companies to experiment with tokenized assets and blockchain-based trading and settlement. However, its inclusion in a larger legislative package may lead to a prolonged review process.
The industry coalition is advocating for practical reforms, such as expanding the range of permissible assets, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and eliminating license expiry dates. These changes, they contend, would empower firms to develop substantial markets rather than limited trials. The push for regulatory updates comes as the US is shaping its own laws, including the Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as part of its comprehensive plan to mobilize savings and investment.