The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets and De Nederlandsche Bank have published a joint review finding that Dutch law does not provide a basis for securities issued, held and transferred solely as tokens. This prevents native tokenization and risks directing investment, market activity and future financial infrastructure to European jurisdictions that have already provided greater legal certainty. Although Dutch and European law do not prohibit distributed ledger technology, market participants generally must maintain a traditional record alongside the distributed ledger record. This dual registration limits potential efficiency gains and creates uncertainty over the token record’s legal status. The authorities called for the government, regulators and market participants to assess concrete use cases and determine whether clarification of existing rules is sufficient or legislative changes are needed, while aligning the Dutch approach with European initiatives.
Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets and De Nederlandsche Bank call for clear legal framework for native securities tokenization
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets and De Nederlandsche Bank found that Dutch law does not support securities issued, held and transferred solely as tokens. They called for a coordinated review to determine whether regulatory clarification or legislative change is needed, as current dual registration requirements constrain efficiency and legal certainty.