A coalition of European financial institutions and tech companies is pressing policymakers to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in digital finance unless action is taken. In a joint letter, 39 signatories, including prominent firms such as Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from several EU countries, have appealed to the European Commission and Parliament to separate the DLT pilot regime from a broader package of 18 financial laws currently under review. By handling these rules independently, the signatories argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly.
The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, enables companies to experiment with tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, using blockchain technology. However, the pilot is currently embedded within a larger legislative package that is progressing through the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups warn may 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 elimination of license expiry dates.
These changes, they contend, would provide firms with the necessary flexibility to establish genuine markets rather than limited trials. This appeal comes as the US is shaping its own regulatory landscape, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as a cohesive unit, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment.