A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology companies is urging the European Commission and Parliament to accelerate the revision of rules governing distributed ledger technology. They warn that the EU is at risk of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector.
In a joint letter, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq are requesting that the DLT pilot regime be separated from a larger package of 18 financial laws, allowing for more rapid updates. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, enables companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets using blockchains. However, the current legislative process may take years to complete. The coalition is advocating for practical changes, such as expanding the range of permitted assets, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and eliminating license expiry dates.
These changes would provide companies with the flexibility to develop full-fledged markets rather than limited trials. The letter comes as the US is shaping its regulatory framework for the industry, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as part of its broader plan to mobilize savings into investment.