A coalition of 39 European financial institutions and technology groups is urging EU lawmakers to accelerate the revision of distributed ledger technology regulations, cautioning that the region is at risk of lagging behind the US in the digital finance sector. In a joint letter, the signatories, including prominent firms such as Boerse Stuttgart Group and Nasdaq, as well as fintech associations from several EU countries, requested that the European Commission and Parliament detach the DLT pilot regime from a broader legislative package currently under review. By handling the rules independently, the institutions argue that updates can be implemented more swiftly.
The DLT pilot, launched in 2023, enables companies to experiment with the use of blockchains for the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as shares and bonds. However, the pilot is part of a larger set of 18 financial laws making their way through the EU's legislative process, a journey that industry groups warn 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 elimination 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 comes at a time when the US is shaping its regulatory framework for the space, including the proposed Genius Act, aimed at further integrating crypto into mainstream finance. The European Commission has indicated a preference for passing the entire legislative package as a whole, as part of its broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment.