DLT Germany
DLT Germany is an independent initiative and think tank for distributed ledger technology. A distributed ledger is a record shared across several computers, with blockchain as one form of that technology. The initiative helps people in research and business understand how such systems work and assess possible uses.
DLT Germany provides information and connects people who have questions or ideas about shared digital records. Its work includes developing possible applications and helping participants evaluate a pilot project. The purpose is to turn a general interest in blockchain into a more informed assessment of the technology and the problem it is meant to solve.
What DLT Germany does
DLT Germany has four aims: to build awareness of the benefits, the opportunities and the consequences of blockchain technology, to drive blockchain initiatives, to be a platform for knowledge and exchange, and to be the place to go for questions, problems or ideas on DLT. The formats offered by DLT Germany are free meetups, held online or in person, events booked through Eventbrite, innovation workshops, design thinking sessions and hackathons that look for use cases. DLT Germany also helps startups and companies with pilot projects.
The association behind DLT Germany is registered in Vienna, with an office in Klosterneuburg, and the website links to the sister initiative DLT Austria, so its reach covers Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The co-founders of DLT Germany are Dr. Jan J. Kruppa, a lawyer for commercial and corporate law, and Eduard Prinz. Jan Kruppa's profile on this site adds that DLT Germany recommends only people and companies it has worked with, and that its events deal with topics such as data protection and its effect on blockchain and AI.
What is distributed ledger technology?
A distributed ledger is a database that many parties keep in copies at the same time, so no single operator controls the record. A blockchain is one kind of distributed ledger: it groups transactions into blocks and chains each block to the one before. The difference between DLT and blockchain is therefore one of scope. Every blockchain is a DLT, but a DLT can also use other data structures, and many ledgers built for banks let only approved participants write to them.
In banking, DLT is used where several institutions keep the same records today: securities settlement, payments between banks and the registers of who owns a bond or a fund share. In crypto, DLT is the ledger that records who holds which coin or token. The knowledge hub answer on smart contracts covers the programs that run on such ledgers.
DLT and the law in Germany and the EU
Germany allowed securities without a paper certificate in the Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere (eWpG) of June 2021. The eWpG set up a crypto securities register that can run on a blockchain; the page on tokenized securities sets out how it works. At EU level, the DLT Pilot Regime, Regulation (EU) 2022/858, has applied since 23 March 2023. The DLT Pilot Regime lets market infrastructures test trading and settlement of tokenized securities on a distributed ledger under eased rules.
In Germany, BaFin grants the licenses under the pilot regime. 21X in Frankfurt received the first license for a DLT trading and settlement system in December 2024, after a review that involved the Deutsche Bundesbank, the ECB and ESMA, the EU securities authority. Crypto-assets that are not securities fall under MiCA instead.
DLT Germany and Finance Loop
Finance Loop and DLT Germany announced their partnership on 30 September 2024, four weeks after the partnership of Finance Loop with W3MUC, the Munich web3 hub. The post names workshops, panel discussions and networking sessions in Munich, with topics from the basics of blockchain to DeFi and smart contracts, open to finance professionals and newcomers.
DLT Germany was one of the supporters of TechClub 25/3, the fintech and blockchain party Finance Loop held in Frankfurt with TechQuartier on 25 March 2025, the evening before the Crypto Assets Conference. In its look back on 2025, Finance Loop names DLT Germany among its partners.
Where do DLT Germany events and meetups take place?
DLT Germany holds its meetups online or in person, free of charge, and lists its events on Eventbrite. The partnership with Finance Loop centers on Munich. The pages on crypto in Munich and web3 in Germany cover these Munich events, and blockchain in Germany names DLT Germany as one of the three associations that speak for the field. Finance Loop events on DLT and tokenization are on the events page.
What is the DLT Pilot Regime?
The DLT Pilot Regime is an EU regulation that lets a trading venue or a central securities depository run a trading and settlement system for tokenized shares, bonds and fund units on a distributed ledger. Size limits apply, and the operator needs a license from its national supervisor, in Germany BaFin. ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, reviews how the regime works.
DLT Germany and Finance Loop
DLT Germany has been a network partner of Finance Loop since 30 September 2024, and supported TechClub 25/3 in Frankfurt. Tokenized securities and DLT settlement belong to the Finance Loop Investment & Digital Assets track.
Finance Loop is a professional network supporting the institutional use of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.