A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology companies is urging regulatory bodies to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology rules, cautioning that the region is at risk of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint statement, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq are requesting that the European Commission and Parliament detach the DLT pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review. This would enable more rapid updates, according to Bloomberg.
The DLT pilot, established in 2023, permits companies to test the use of blockchains for trading and settling tokenized assets such as shares and bonds. However, it is currently part of a larger set of 18 financial laws progressing through the EU's legislative process, which industry groups warn could take years to complete. The coalition is advocating for practical reforms, including the expansion of permitted asset types, the increase of transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the removal of license expiry dates.
These changes, they argue, would provide companies with the flexibility to establish full-fledged markets rather than limited trials. This development comes as the US is shaping its regulatory landscape for the industry, 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 as a single unit, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.