A coalition of European financial institutions and tech companies is pressing lawmakers to accelerate the revision of regulations governing distributed ledger technology, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint statement, 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. According to the signatories, handling the rules independently would enable more rapid updates, as reported by Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, introduced in 2023, permits companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, using blockchain technology.
The pilot is part of a larger set of 18 financial laws currently navigating the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups predict could take several years. The coalition is advocating for pragmatic reforms, including the expansion of permitted asset types, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros ($176 billion), and eliminating expiration dates for licenses.
These changes, they argue, would provide companies with the flexibility to establish substantial markets rather than limited trials. The statement comes as the US is shaping laws to regulate the sector, 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 collectively as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment.