A coalition of European financial institutions and tech companies is urging policymakers to accelerate the reform of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lag behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a collaborative letter, 39 signatories, including prominent firms such as Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from multiple EU countries, petitioned the European Commission and Parliament to separate the DLT pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review.
According to the signatories, handling these regulations independently would enable more rapid updates, as reported by Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, permits companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, using blockchain technology.
The pilot is currently part of a larger set of 18 financial laws navigating the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups claim may 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 proposed changes, they argue, would provide companies with the necessary flexibility to establish substantial markets rather than limited trials. This appeal comes as the US is shaping its regulatory landscape, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission has indicated its preference for passing the comprehensive legislative package as a unified entity, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings and stimulate investment.