AFTER PARIBAS ALSO SOCIÉTÉ GENERALE LAUNCHES CRYPTO SERVICES

Growing interest from investors who wish to integrate cryptocurrencies into their portfolios, French bank “Société Generale” has introduced new services for its asset manager clients who wish to develop cryptocurrency-based funds, according to a recent statement.

These services allow asset managers to act as fund custodians, valuers and liability managers “in a simple way and within the European regulatory framework,” the bank said.

It is the securities services division of Societe Generale Bank SGSS that offers them services that develop professional fund ranges based on digital assets such as Bitcoin.

Among the reasons why Europe’s fourth-largest bank by capitalization decided to offer crypto services, undoubtedly responding to investors’ new needs is the most obvious.
Kicking off the initiative is French fund manager Arquant Capital, which today launched two regulated funds with direct exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum with the help of SGSS.

The partnership between the two groups finds certification in the words of Eron Angjele, CEO of Arquant Capital:

“This solution provides Arquant Capital with an innovative structure that allows us to rapidly evolve our offering and focus on creating value for our clients,” he said.

But Société Générale has long been exploring the potential of digital assets and blockchain with its subsidiary SG Forge. although it initially preferred to keep its distance from Bitcoin. In 2019, Société Générale SFH issued on Ethereum Housing Finance Bonds (HFB) in the form of security tokens. In 2021, Société Générale Forge chose the Tezos blockchain (XTZ) to launch its first tokenized structured product.

In July 2022, it struck a deal with Swiss platform Metaco to pilot a cryptocurrency custody platform for security tokens.

Another step forward by a French bank, after also in July one of the 6 most solid banks in the world-according to the rating company Standard & Poor’s, – namely The banking giant BNP Paribas, will enter the cryptocurrency custody space and will also do so through a partnership with Metaco.

France believes in the digital sector, so much so that it was the first to pursue the project for a European CBDC, making it the most advanced European country in digital currency design. As soon as the first step of experimentation is completed, the second will begin this year.