Group of 39 firms urge EU to fast-track DLT rules, warn of lagging the US

A 39-member coalition including Nasdaq urged the EU to fast-track DLT pilot changes, warning Europe could lose ground to the US in tokenized finance.

A group of European financial companies and industry bodies have urged European Union officials and lawmakers to fast-track changes to blockchain rules, warning the region risks falling behind the US in tokenized finance.

In a joint letter on Tuesday, 39 signatories, including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart, called on the European Commission and Parliament to carve out the DLT Pilot Regime from a broader legislative package and review it as a standalone law, according to a copy of the letter shared by crypto association Adan.

The group argued that folding the regime into the wider Market Integration and Supervision Package could delay reforms needed to keep pace with global developments. “Negotiations are likely to be lengthy,” the letter, addressed to Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luis Albuquerque, said, adding that delays “risk dampening Europe’s momentum in DLT adoption.”

The DLT Pilot Regime is an EU framework launched in 2023 that lets financial firms test blockchain-based trading and settlement of assets like stocks and bonds under real market conditions. It acts as a regulatory sandbox, allowing temporary exemptions from certain rules so companies can experiment with tokenized finance.

Related: Europe’s Bitcoin treasury playbook won’t be a copy of Strategy: PBW 2026

The group is pushing for a series of changes to the current pilot regime, including expanding the range of eligible assets, raising the overall volume cap to 150 billion euros ($176 billion), removing time limits on licenses and the removal of time limitation on licences. “These pragmatic adjustments enjoy broad support among market participants across Europe,” the letter claims.

Under the current regime, only relatively small financial products can be tested on blockchain systems, including shares from companies valued under $588 million, bonds with issuance sizes below $1.17 billion and investment funds with assets under $588 million.

The US has moved to integrate tokenized securities into its existing financial system, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clarifying that broker-dealers can custody tokenized stocks and bonds under current investor protection rules. The regulator has also issued a no-action letter enabling a Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation subsidiary to launch a service that tokenizes real-world assets held in custody.

Cointelegraph reached out to Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart for comment, but had not received a response by publication.

Related: Poland parliament fails again to override presidential veto on crypto bill

In February, a group of European tokenization and market infrastructure firms also urged EU policymakers to urgently update the DLT Pilot Regime, warning that strict asset limits, low issuance caps and time-bound licenses are holding back the scaling of regulated onchain markets.

In a joint letter, a group of 9 companies, including Securitize, 21X and Boerse Stuttgart Group, argued that without a “quick fix” to the pilot regime, liquidity and market activity could shift to the US, weakening Europe’s position in digital capital markets.

Magazine: Bitcoin will not hit $1M by 2030, says veteran trader Peter Brandt

Source: CoinTelegraph