The Pilot Regime comes into force
The 23 March 2023, the European regulation on market infrastructures (trading platforms) and post-trade infrastructures (settlement/delivery systems) came into force. It makes it possible to authorise infrastructures that integrate both market and post-trade activities for the first time. The goal is for new infrastructures based on this new technology not to be penalised by existing regulations.
As the legislator wishes to allow market players to test the new “distributed ledger technology” (DLT), the Pilot Regime is presented as a temporary regulatory framework based on a predefined list of potential exemptions from existing regulations, mainly MiFID and CSDR. These exemptions are expected to last for three years but could possibly be extended by another three years. At the end of this trial period, the legislator will decide either to perpetuate, amend or repeal these temporary provisions.
The players primarily affected by the Pilot Regime are market and/or post-trade infrastructures looking to benefit from the exemptions provided for. They will need to identify and then justify to the regulator the exemptions that they consider necessary to adapt and optimise their processing with DLT.