A coalition of European tokenization and market infrastructure firms has urged EU policymakers to quickly amend the bloc’s DLT Pilot Regime, saying current limits are preventing regulated on‑chain markets from scaling as U.S. initiatives advance. In a joint letter timed ahead of a parliamentary debate, Securitize, 21X, Boerse Stuttgart Group, Lise, OpenBrick, STX and Axiology called for targeted, technical changes to the sandbox that would preserve investor protections while enabling growth.
The companies say three structural constraints are the most damaging: narrow definitions of eligible assets, low issuance and volume caps, and the six‑year limit on pilot licences. They warned these restrictions are already constraining issuance and liquidity in Europe and create a strategic risk as U.S. markets move toward industrial‑scale tokenization and near‑instant settlement.
Rather than seeking broad deregulation, the firms proposed a narrow “quick fix” that would: expand the range of eligible assets, raise issuance and volume caps, and remove the six‑year ceiling on pilot licences so regulated operators can scale products that are live elsewhere. The signatories argued such adjustments could be implemented as a standalone technical update without reopening the EU’s wider market‑structure reforms, allowing faster adoption and avoiding a prolonged delay that could push settlement and issuance activity to overseas venues.
The letter highlights a contrast with recent U.S. regulatory moves. On Dec. 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Trading and Markets Division set out how broker‑dealers may custody tokenized stocks and bonds under existing customer‑protection rules, signaling that tokenized securities will be accommodated within established frameworks. That same day the SEC issued a no‑action letter to a DTCC subsidiary, enabling a tokenization service for assets held in DTC custody. On Jan. 28, the SEC issued further guidance distinguishing securities tokenized by issuers from those tokenized by unaffiliated third parties, offering clearer regulatory footing for market participants.
Major exchanges have also signalled interest in tokenized listings: Nasdaq has prioritized SEC approval to list tokenized stocks, and the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to develop a platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs, which would support 24/7 trading and near‑instant settlement pending regulators’ sign‑off.
The European firms warned that global liquidity will not pause for regulatory delay. If Europe keeps strict limits in place, issuance and trading activity could migrate to U.S. markets as on‑chain settlement infrastructure matures, weakening the euro’s competitiveness in global capital markets. Their appeal is for swift, technical corrections that retain investor safeguards while enabling Europe’s regulated tokenized markets to scale.