A coalition of European financial firms and tech groups is pressing lawmakers to accelerate reforms in distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region may lose ground to the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter, 39 signatories, including prominent firms like Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from several EU countries, have appealed to the European Commission and Parliament to decouple the DLT pilot regime from a larger package of 18 financial laws currently under review.
By handling these rules independently, the firms argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly, according to Bloomberg. The DLT pilot, which has been in place since 2023, enables companies to experiment with tokenized assets, such as shares and bonds, using blockchain technology for trading and settlement. However, as part of a broader set of financial laws making their way through the EU's legislative process, the pilot's progress may be hindered by a prolonged review period. The industry coalition is advocating for practical reforms, including the expansion of allowable assets, the increase of transaction limits to 150 billion euros, and the removal of license expiry dates.
These changes, they contend, would provide firms with the necessary flexibility to establish full-fledged markets rather than limited trials. The letter coincides with the US's efforts to regulate the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission, however, has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as a cohesive unit, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investments.