A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology groups is pressing for accelerated changes to the rules governing distributed ledger technology, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in the digital finance landscape. In a joint letter to the European Commission and Parliament, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from several EU countries, are advocating for the separation of 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, according to Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, enables companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds using blockchain technology.
However, as part of a larger legislative package, the process may take years to complete. The industry groups are pushing for practical reforms, including the expansion of permitted asset types, an increase in transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the elimination of license expiry dates.
These changes, they contend, would allow firms to establish substantial markets rather than limited trials. The letter coincides with the US's efforts to regulate the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the full legislative package as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.