A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology companies is pressing for accelerated reforms to the rules governing distributed ledger technology, citing concerns that the region may lag behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter to the European Commission and Parliament, the signatories - including prominent firms such as Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from several EU countries - are advocating for the separation of the digital ledger technology pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review. By handling these rules independently, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more quickly, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, enables companies to test the use of tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, on blockchain platforms. However, as part of a larger set of 18 financial laws making their way through the EU's legislative process, the industry groups warn that this could be a protracted process taking several years. The coalition is seeking practical changes, including the expansion of permissible asset types, an increase in transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the removal of license expiry dates. These adjustments, they contend, would provide firms with the flexibility to establish full-fledged markets rather than merely conducting small-scale trials.
This plea comes at a time when the US is shaping its regulatory landscape for the sector, including the proposed Genius Act aimed at further integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the comprehensive legislative package as a whole, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.