A coalition of 39 prominent European financial firms and technology groups is pressing lawmakers to accelerate the revision of regulations governing distributed ledger technology, cautioning that the region is at risk of lagging behind the United States in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter addressed to the European Commission and Parliament, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and various EU fintech associations requested that the DLT pilot regime be decoupled from a broader legislative package currently under review. By handling the rules independently, they argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly, according to Bloomberg.
The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, enables firms to experiment with tokenized assets such as shares and bonds on blockchains. However, it is currently part of a larger set of 18 financial laws navigating the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups warn could take several years. The coalition is advocating for practical reforms, including the expansion of permissible assets, an increase in transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the elimination of license expiration dates.
These changes, they contend, would provide firms with the necessary room to establish genuine markets rather than limited trials. This development comes as the United States is shaping its own laws to regulate the space, 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 broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment.