A coalition of 39 prominent European financial institutions and technology companies is urging lawmakers to accelerate the revision of regulations governing distributed ledger technology, citing the risk of Europe falling behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter to the European Commission and Parliament, the signatories - including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq - are advocating for the separation of the DLT pilot regime from a larger package of 18 financial laws currently under review. This, they argue, would enable more rapid updates to the rules. The pilot regime, established in 2023, allows firms to experiment with the use of blockchains for the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds.
However, the current legislative process, which encompasses 18 financial laws, is expected to take years to complete. The industry groups are seeking practical reforms, including the expansion of permissible assets, an increase in transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the removal of license expiry dates. These changes, they contend, would provide firms with the necessary freedom to develop full-fledged markets rather than limited trials. The push for regulatory reform comes as the US is shaping its own laws to govern the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at further integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as a single entity, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings and stimulate investment.