This license will allow FORGE to serve institutional clients’ needs for digital assets. The banking institution is the first to secure a license under France’s new crypto rules.
France’s third-largest banking institution Societe Generale recently secured the first license issued under France’s new crypto rules, for its crypto and blockchain unit FORGE.
According to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF)’s website, SG FORGE gets the license to provide cryptocurrency services such as the purchase and sale of digital assets as well as digital assets custody. On Tuesday, France’s financial regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers, designated Societe Generale Forge as a digital asset service provider (DASP). This license allows Forge to serve institutional clients’ needs for digital assets, as mentioned by Forge’s CEO, Jean-Marc Stenger, in a statement on Wednesday.
The AMF’s website states that with this license, Forge gets permission to act as a custodian for digital assets, facilitate the buying and selling of digital assets using legal tender, trade digital assets for other digital assets, and handle third-party orders for digital assets.
Navigating through France’s Crypto Regulatory Landscape
In France, the process for becoming a DASP (Digital Asset Service Provider) is more complex than the simple registration process for crypto companies. The registration only requires firms to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering rules.
Despite many crypto companies, including the largest exchange Binance, having registered with the AMF (French financial regulator), the crypto division of the third-largest bank in France is the first to receive a license.
To operate and offer crypto custody, exchange, or trading services in France, firms must register with the relevant authorities. However, in order to secure a license, a firm needs to set up a base in France and adhere to specific requirements related to organization, financial resources, and business conduct, as stated by the AMF (French financial regulator).
As a result, licensing should show a higher level of compliance with regulatory requirements compared to registration.
About Societe Generale’s FORGE Platform
Societe Generale’s FORGE provides unique and advanced services to issuers and investors. They assist in managing digital financial products registered on the blockchain, leveraging the expertise of Societe Generale Group teams.
FORGE services are built on legal, operational, and technical frameworks to ensure complete compliance with laws and regulations right from the start. They also allow for easy integration with existing systems, reduce adaptation costs, and support the use of different blockchain protocols.
In April 2023, the SG FORGE platform introduced its own stablecoin called “convertible”. This stablecoin operates on the Ethereum blockchain network and is designed for institutional use.
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