European financial firms and technology groups are urging lawmakers to accelerate changes to rules governing distributed ledger technology, warning that the region risks falling behind the United States in digital finance.
In a joint letter, 39 signatories, including Boerse Stuttgart Group, Nasdaq and fintech associations from several European Union (EU) countries, called on the European Commission and the European Parliament to separate the digital ledger technology (DLT) pilot regime from a broader legislative package under review.
They argue that managing the rules on their own would allow for faster updates, Bloomberg reports. The DLT pilot, in place since 2023, allows companies to test how tokenized versions of assets such as stocks and bonds can be traded and settled using blockchains.
It is part of a broader set of 18 financial laws working their way through the EU’s legislative process, a journey that industry groups say could take years.
The coalition is pushing for practical changes, including expanding the types of assets allowed, increasing transaction limits to 150 billion euros ($176 billion) and removing license expiration dates. They say these changes would give companies the opportunity to create real markets rather than small trials.
The letter comes as the United States develops laws regulating the space, including the Genius Act, intended to help further introduce crypto into traditional finance.
The European Commission has indicated that it prefers to adopt the entire legislative package as part of its broader plan to mobilize savings into investment.
