A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology companies is pressing lawmakers 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 joint letter, signatories including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq, and fintech associations from multiple EU countries urged the European Commission and Parliament to separate the DLT pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review.
By handling the rules independently, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more quickly, according to Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, enables companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds using blockchain technology. However, it is currently part of a larger set of 18 financial laws making their way through the EU's legislative process, which industry groups claim could 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 removal of license expiry dates.
These changes, they argue, would provide companies with the flexibility to establish substantial markets rather than limited trials. The letter 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 a preference for passing the entire legislative package together as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.