A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and tech companies is calling on EU lawmakers to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology regulations, warning that the region is at risk of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter, the signatories, including Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, requested that the European Commission and Parliament detach the DLT pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review. By handling the DLT rules separately, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more quickly. The DLT pilot, launched in 2023, enables companies to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, using blockchain technology.
However, the pilot 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 allowed assets, increased transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the removal of license expiry dates. These changes, they argue, would provide companies with the flexibility to develop genuine markets rather than limited trials.
The push for regulatory changes comes as the US is shaping its own laws to govern the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the full legislative package together as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment.