Major European financial institutions and tech companies are pressing lawmakers to accelerate the reform of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in digital finance unless action is taken. In a collective letter, 39 signatories, including prominent firms such as Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from multiple EU countries, have urged the European Commission and Parliament to separate the DLT 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, as reported by Bloomberg.
The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, enables companies to test the use of blockchain for trading and settling tokenized assets such as shares and bonds. However, as part of a larger set of 18 financial laws progressing through the EU's legislative process, industry groups warn that this could be a protracted process taking years. The coalition is advocating for practical reforms, including the expansion of permissible asset types, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and eliminating license expiry dates.
These proposed changes would, they argue, provide companies with the necessary space to develop substantial markets rather than merely conducting small-scale trials. This appeal comes at a time when 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, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as a unified whole, as part of its broader strategy to channel savings into investments.