Guest view: EU tokenisation drive depends on scale
XLF•Tokenised assets on public blockchains grew from €7.4 billion at the start of 2024 to €38 billion in February 2026, the article says. The EU’s DLT Pilot had authorised six market infrastructures by July 2026, which had issued €546 million in tokenised assets.
1. Tokenised market growth
The market capitalisation of tokenised assets on public blockchains rose from €7.4 billion at the start of 2024 to €38 billion in February 2026. The article argues that Europe needs legal certainty, interoperable infrastructure and appropriate supervision to support tokenised markets operating safely and at scale across borders.
2. EU pilot constraints
Since 2023, the EU’s Distributed Ledger Technology Pilot has let market participants and regulators test tokenised trading and settlement in a controlled environment. By July 2026, it had authorised six market infrastructures, which together had issued €546 million in tokenised assets. The article says restrictions on eligible assets and operating scale constrain take-up.
3. Framework and settlement
The article identifies interoperability, secure on-chain cash settlement and legal certainty as conditions for adoption. It says the EU’s Market Integration and Supervision Package could address some limits, while a common European framework could help avoid fragmented national approaches. The European Central Bank’s Pontes Initiative is connecting DLT platforms to settlement in central bank money.
