Implementation of the EU DLT Pilot Regime: ABBL opinion released

On 29 September 2022, the ABBL has released its opinion on the draft law N°8055 (the “Draft Law Blockchain III”) implementing the EU Regulation 2022/858 on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology (“DLT”).

The Draft Law Blockchain III follows the Law of 1^st March 2019 and the Law of 22 January 2021 (the “Blockchain I and II Laws”) which have already enabled market participants to use DLT in the circulation and issuance of financial instruments.

The Draft Law Blockchain III goes a step further as it would enable the implementation in Luxembourg of the pilot regime resulting from the EU Regulation 2022/858 allowing national authorities to temporarily exempt market infrastructures wishing to use DLT of some requirements imposed by existing legislation. For that purpose, the Draft Law Blockchain III includes minor modifications to the amended law of 5 April 1993 on the financial sector, the amended Law of 5 August 2005 on financial collateral arrangements and the amended Law of 30 May 2018 on markets in financial instruments.

The ABBL is supportive of that legal initiative enabling Luxembourg to consolidate its position regarding the use of DLT in financial services.

By Jonathan Hug, Senior Legal Adviser & Andrey Martovoy, Innovation and Digital Adviser