Societe Generale, a French bank giant, has been granted permission to offer digital asset services through its subsidiary Forge. It can now trade, sell, and custody digital assets thanks to the French regulatory authority. Similar regulatory rulings were made by the Autorite des Marches Financiers for other crypto companies, including Crypto.com and Binance.
Societe Generale is France’s third largest bank by market capital. It quietly received regulatory approval last month to be a digital asset provider in the country. It was founded in 1864, and has assets of more than EUR2.2 million as of 2020. It is France’s second-biggest bank and sixth in Europe in terms of its balance sheets.
Societe Generale Forge is a fully integrated subsidiary that focuses on blockchain. HSBC can now trade, custody, and sell digital assets.
This is due to a ruling by the Autorité des Marches Financiers ( MF), French financial market regulator.
The Block reached out Friday to Societe Generale representatives for comment, but they had not returned the call by publication time.
Many venture capitalists in France are currently struggling to find regulated custodial options for digital assets. French crypto funds, such as the EUR100million Ledger Cathay Capital Fund, were created as unregulated special-purpose vehicles. French venture capital firms may now be able to use one of the most prominent banking players to custody token investments, according to the latest ruling by the AMF.
This is in line with previous bank moves into digital assets. The bank last month announced that it would provide new custodial services to asset management companies who want to create funds based upon cryptocurrencies. Metaco , a crypto custody company, announced that it would be partnering with Societe Generale’s Forge in June to increase its digital asset capabilities.
France is a major hub for European blockchain technology. Overseas cryptocurrency companies continue to focus on France. Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency platform, announced a EUR150million ($145 million) French investment to support its operations in France, which includes the establishment of a regional headquarters in Paris.
As France seeks to be a leading hub for blockchain technology , Crypto.com and other foreign crypto exchanges have obtained licenses in France.
In April, Binance announced a EUR100m (97 million USD) investment in France. He called France “uniquely placed to be the leader in this industry in Europe.”
