French bank Societe Generale has become France’s first company to obtain a crypto services license.
The provider will be granted the right to custody of the digital assets and the ability to buy, sell, and exchange them for real money. On July 19, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s stock market regulator, updated its registration.
Local media covered this event. As stated in the news release by Société Générale’s representatives: The greatest level of regulatory certification now attainable for transactions involving digital assets is accreditation.
Approximately 90 businesses have been included on the AMF list of authorized providers thus far. For instance, in June 2023, the subsidiary of Société Générale’s formidable rival Crédit Agricole received authorisation for digital custody.
But Forge was the first to win the regulator’s highest endorsement for several services. According to the French radio station Business FM, this level of certification has such strict standards that larger traditional banks have an advantage over smaller crypto firms.
Société Générale has been quite active in the cryptocurrency space, producing security tokens on the Tezos blockchain and euro bonds on the Ethereum blockchain.
Bond tokens are used as collateral for stablecoin loans. Forge introduced EUR CoinVertible, a stablecoin tied to the euro, for approved institutional clients in April 2023.
Only investors Societe Generale has accepted through its current Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering procedures will have access to the new digital asset.
The French branch of Binance has been the focus of a preliminary inquiry by the Judicial inquiry Service of Finance under the supervision of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris, despite France continuing to be one of the most welcoming European countries to cryptocurrencies.
