A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology groups is pressing lawmakers to accelerate reforms governing distributed ledger technology, cautioning that the region may fall behind the US in digital finance unless changes are made. In a joint letter addressed to the European Commission and Parliament, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq are advocating for the separation of the DLT pilot regime from a broader package of 18 financial laws currently under review.
By handling the rules independently, the coalition argues that updates can be implemented more quickly. The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, permits firms to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds using blockchains.
However, as part of a larger legislative package, the process could take years to complete. The coalition is pushing 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 contend, would provide firms with the necessary room to establish actual markets rather than limited trials. The letter coincides with the US's efforts to regulate the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the full legislative package as part of its broader strategy to channel savings into investments.