A coalition of 39 prominent European financial institutions and technology companies is pressing lawmakers to accelerate reforms governing distributed ledger technology, cautioning that the region is in danger of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter addressed to the European Commission and Parliament, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and fintech associations from multiple EU countries, are advocating for the separation of the DLT pilot regime from a larger legislative package currently under review.
According to the firms, handling the regulations independently would enable more rapid updates, as reported by Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, which has been in effect since 2023, permits companies to experiment with the use of blockchains for the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds.
Presently, the DLT pilot is part of a comprehensive set of 18 financial laws navigating the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups warn could span several years. The coalition is pushing for pragmatic reforms, including the expansion of permissible asset types, the increase of transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the elimination of license expiry dates. These proposed changes, they argue, would provide firms with the necessary latitude to establish substantial markets rather than merely conducting small-scale trials. The letter coincides with the US's efforts to shape laws regulating the space, including the Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance.
The European Commission has indicated its preference for passing the entire legislative package collectively as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.