EU Financial Giants Urge Fast-Track for Blockchain Pilot to Counter US Competition

A group of 39 leading financial firms and technology organizations, including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart Group, has formally requested that European lawmakers accelerate the evolution of the region's distributed ledger technology (DLT) pilot regime. In a joint letter to the European Commission and Parliament, the signatories urged officials to separate DLT rules from a larger, more complex legislative package currently under review. The coalition argues that the current bundled approach to legislation could take years to finalize, potentially leaving the European Union behind the United States. This comes as the U.S. advances its own digital finance framework, specifically the Genius Act, which is designed to integrate cryptocurrency more deeply into mainstream financial systems. The DLT pilot, established in 2023, allows firms to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets, such as bonds and shares. The industry group is seeking specific practical enhancements to move these trials toward commercial viability. Key demands include expanding the variety of eligible assets and raising transaction limits to 150 billion euros ($176 billion). Additionally, the group is calling for the removal of expiration dates on existing licenses to provide the stability needed to build permanent markets. While the European Commission has expressed a preference for passing the full legislative package as part of a broader strategy to mobilize savings into investment, the industry's push highlights a growing tension between comprehensive regulatory oversight and the need for agility in the fintech sector. If granted, these changes would transition the DLT regime from a limited testing environment to a scalable infrastructure for digital securities.