DLT-based trading venues and EU capital markets legislation: state of the art and perspectives under the DLT pilot regime

This paper aims to analyze the interconnection of the recently published DLT Regulation with traditional pieces of EU financial legislation, particularly MiFID II and the CSDR, as to the treatment of market infrastructures. Therefore, the study’s main purpose is to scrutinize the legislative choices concerning the use of DLT in trading and settlement transactions, especially given the principle of technological neutrality. To reach such an objective, the paper briefly evaluates whether, and to what extent, the applicable legislation is indeed incompatible with DLT. As a result, questions are posed to the design of a pilot regime and to the short-term solution ultimately adopted by EU legislators, given the feasibility of more efficient coordination of the regimes in light of the new technology.