A coalition of major financial institutions including Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart is urging European regulators to lift or substantially raise a cap governing a tokenization pilot program, arguing that the current threshold is too restrictive to allow meaningful experimentation with blockchain-based securities.
Industry Pushback on the Cap
The group of exchanges and financial firms has told European Union authorities that the limit imposed on the tokenization trial is set too low to support serious innovation. According to the coalition, several tokenization projects already operating in Europe have surpassed the proposed ceiling, suggesting the framework is out of step with market realities before it has even fully launched.
The trial is intended to give firms a controlled environment to test the issuance and trading of tokenized financial instruments, using distributed ledger technology to modernize how assets are recorded and settled. But participants argue that a restrictive cap undermines the very purpose of the experiment.
A pilot designed to spur innovation cannot succeed if its limits are already smaller than the projects it aims to test.
What the Coalition Wants
The signatories are asking regulators either to remove the cap entirely or to raise it significantly, giving institutions room to scale their tokenization efforts and gather more robust data on how the technology performs at volume. The inclusion of established names like Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart lends considerable weight to the appeal, signaling that traditional finance players are increasingly committed to blockchain-based market infrastructure.
Tokenization has emerged as one of the most closely watched applications of distributed ledger technology, with proponents arguing it can reduce settlement times, cut costs, and broaden access to a range of assets.
- Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart are among the firms backing the request.
- The coalition says existing European projects already exceed the current limit.
- The group wants the cap removed or raised to enable larger-scale trials.
The outcome of the request could shape how aggressively Europe positions itself in the global race to bring regulated tokenized markets to scale, as jurisdictions worldwide compete to attract digital asset innovation.