For a few years now, Société Générale, through its subsidiary dedicated to digital assets, SG-Forge, has brought the public blockchain into the trading room.
Traditional finance is indeed undergoing a profound transformation and the world of crypto-assets is no longer as taboo as in the past. Since the PACTE law of 2019, French players operating in this sector are required to register with the AMF.
Anticipate the application of MiCA in Europe
SG-Forge had been registered since September 2022. Now, the banking subsidiary is the first to be able to claim approval, a higher level in terms of requirements. Moreover, this approval is still optional – for a period that is coming to an end, however.
“It attests to a reinforced level of security and reliability of compliance, internal control and cybersecurity systems, as well as the maintenance of minimum capital”, underlines the company, which justifies this complex certification work.
This year, Europe approved a new crypto-asset regulation, MiCA. This provides, after a transition period, the obligation for the PSAN to obtain an authorization to operate their activities.
The certification obtained in France by Societe Generale is thus a way of anticipating the entry into force of the European MiCA regulation in 2024. “Providers who will be approved under the MiCA regulation will be able to benefit from the European passport and provide their services in all EU countries”, details the AMF.
Approval to develop the EURCV stablecoin
For an international financial group, approval is therefore an essential step. It is also for him an “important phase for the development of the Euro CoinVertible (EURCV)” and the enrichment of its offer.
Since September 20222, Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) has, for example, offered services to asset managers developing ranges of professional funds based on digital assets, including Bitcoin.
In addition to issuing securities in security token format and experimenting with DeFi, SG-Forge launched its own stablecoin this year, a cryptocurrency backed by the euro and deployed on the Ethereum blockchain, the richest in terms of ecosystems and users.
A strong challenge for the tokenization of finance
“With the obtaining of the PSAN approval, Société Générale – FORGE confirms its pioneering role in the crypto-asset ecosystem. This step will allow us to continue supporting our institutional clients wishing to benefit from services on digital assets that meet the highest standards of compliance and banking security”, reacts its CEO, Jean-Marc Stenger.
During the Adan’s Web3 Leaders Forum conference, the AMF’s president, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, also welcomed this first, specifying that an accreditation represented several months of work and discussions.
For the leader, the “context has changed a lot since the PACTE law of 2019”, and this implies, she believes, “moving to a phase of maturity in regulation.”