DECRETO-LEGGE 17 marzo 2023, n. 25 : Disposizioni urgenti in materia di emissioni e circolazione di determinati strumenti finanziari in forma digitale e di semplificazione della sperimentazione FinTech. (23G00035)

The Legislative Decree n. 25 of 17 March 2023 about urgent provisions of digital financial instruments and simplification of FinTech, was published in the Official Journal, Gazzetta ufficiale.
The decree introduces regulations necessary to implement Regulation (EU) 2022/858 – DLT Pilot Regulation (DLTR), which establishes a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), a shared database of information that records transactions related to financial and digital instruments. The regulations provide a common discipline for the circulation of digital financial instruments based on technologically advanced solutions. Additionally, the regulations introduce measures to simplify experimentation related to FinTech activities, for testing innovative digital solutions in the banking, financial, and insurance sectors.
The issuance and transfer of digital financial instruments must be recorded on a digital circulation register held by a register operator, a DLT SS or DLT TSS operator, the Bank of Italy, or the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Under accordance with DLTR Consob and the Bank of Italy are the competent authorities.
The scope of application are especially the categories of shares, bonds, limited liability company and other debt securities. Moreover, the issuance of digital financial instruments is allowed only on registers maintained by responsible persons registered in the list provided for in Article 19. The issuer must notify Consob of the characteristics of the issuance and the person in charge of the register, as well as provide subscribers with the information stipulated in Article 23(3). A list of entities that can be registered as responsible for digital circulation registers are banks, investment companies, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, insurance or reinsurance companies, and issuers with legal headquarters in Italy. Entities can only begin their activities once they are registered, which must be promptly notified to Consob, Banca d’Italia, or IVASS, depending on the supervisory body.
Administrative sanctions up to 5 million euros may be imposed on the person in charge who fails to ensure compliance with the requirements.
Within three years of the entry into force of this decree, the Consob and the Bank of Italy will submit to the Fintech Committee a report on the market phenomenon and the results of the application of the new digital circulation discipline. The authorities will indicate any critical issues and evaluations related to the digital register and necessary regulatory interventions, also taking into account any subsequent developments in the European regulatory framework.