Subsidiary of Societe Generale receives France's first license for cryptocurrency services
Date: 2023-07-19 Categories: CRYPT
According to the July 19 announcement, Forge, a subsidiary of Société Générale, became the first entity to be licensed to provide cryptographic services in France.
The company is a subsidiary of the blockchain platform of France's third largest bank Société Générale. It is currently the only firm licensed as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) in France, which is offered by Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of Société Générale Forge, said:
“This will allow us to continue to support our institutional clients who want digital asset services that meet the highest standards of compliance and banking security.”
Société Générale has loosely described the DASP license as the "highest level" of digital asset certification that companies can currently obtain. He drew attention to the license's emphasis on safety, compliance, internal control, and regulatory capital.
The firm said that, in addition to helping meet demand from the institution's clients, the license will help it develop its Euro CoinVertible (EURCV) stablecoin. The firm launched a stablecoin issued on Ethereum in April, although it has generated controversy as independent developers have pointed out obvious flaws in the project's code.
Société Générale Forge also acknowledged that the license will help it prepare for work under the upcoming European MiCA regulations. Bloomberg explained in its report that crypto services will need to be licensed from an EU member state in order to operate under MiCA regional regulations starting in January 2025.
DASP license based on registration
Société Générale Forge stated that prior to obtaining its current DASP license, it received DASP registration status in September 2022.
He called this registration a "mandatory step" on the way to being able to engage in various activities. The registration notably allowed the firm to offer custody of digital assets, purchase and sale of digital assets as legal tender, and trading of digital assets.
Although Société Générale Forge is the only company to have received a French DASP license, 90 firms have received lesser DASP registrations in France. Notable firms that have done this include Binance France, Etoro, Crypto.com (like Foris), and Bitpanda.
The company is a subsidiary of the blockchain platform of France's third largest bank Société Générale. It is currently the only firm licensed as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) in France, which is offered by Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of Société Générale Forge, said:
“This will allow us to continue to support our institutional clients who want digital asset services that meet the highest standards of compliance and banking security.”
Société Générale has loosely described the DASP license as the "highest level" of digital asset certification that companies can currently obtain. He drew attention to the license's emphasis on safety, compliance, internal control, and regulatory capital.
The firm said that, in addition to helping meet demand from the institution's clients, the license will help it develop its Euro CoinVertible (EURCV) stablecoin. The firm launched a stablecoin issued on Ethereum in April, although it has generated controversy as independent developers have pointed out obvious flaws in the project's code.
Société Générale Forge also acknowledged that the license will help it prepare for work under the upcoming European MiCA regulations. Bloomberg explained in its report that crypto services will need to be licensed from an EU member state in order to operate under MiCA regional regulations starting in January 2025.
DASP license based on registration
Société Générale Forge stated that prior to obtaining its current DASP license, it received DASP registration status in September 2022.
He called this registration a "mandatory step" on the way to being able to engage in various activities. The registration notably allowed the firm to offer custody of digital assets, purchase and sale of digital assets as legal tender, and trading of digital assets.
Although Société Générale Forge is the only company to have received a French DASP license, 90 firms have received lesser DASP registrations in France. Notable firms that have done this include Binance France, Etoro, Crypto.com (like Foris), and Bitpanda.
