39 Financial Heavyweights Urge EU to Fast-Track Blockchain and DLT Pilot

The EU launched its DLT Pilot Regime in 2023, allowing firms to test the trading and settlement of tokenized assets such as stocks and bonds on blockchain infrastructure under exemptions from certain regulations. Current eligibility thresholds cover only shares in companies with market capitalizations below $588 million and bonds with issuance values under $1.17 billion, which the industry says are too restrictive to create a market at scale.

On April 21, 2026, 39 financial and technology companies and industry associations, including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart Group, sent a letter to the European Commission and European Parliament calling for the DLT pilot to be separated from a package covering 18 pieces of financial legislation. The coalition proposed raising the aggregate cap to €150 billion, or about $176 billion, and removing license expiry dates to prevent Europe from falling behind the United States.