The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) granted the crypto arm of French bank Société Générale a license to participate in the growing crypto industry in France.

The new license also adds one of the largest commercial banks in France to a growing cohort of TradFi firms embracing crypto. 

AMF Imposes Strict Compliance for Crypto Industry in France

AMF’s license allows FORGE, the French banking giant’s crypto arm, to offer trading of one crypto asset for another. In addition, customers can also buy crypto with fiat. The bank can also receive and transmit third-party orders for digital assets.

Previously, Luno, Bitpanda, and Hex Trust secured similar licenses with the French regulator. In May, the second-largest global exchange OKX applied for a license in France.

To obtain a license with the AMF, companies must have robust information technology infrastructure, avoid conflicts of interest, and employ anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism measures. In addition, applicants must also have internal controls and employ capable staff, including an executive manager.

However, the AMF can deregister crypto companies if the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) determines they no longer comply.

French Bank Enters Space as Industry Prepares for MiCA

Amid US lawsuits against several large crypto firms, Binance and Circle, recently expanded into overseas territories, including France.

In May, Binance reportedly halted trading of privacy coins, cryptocurrencies that do not offer a clear window into user transactions. Privacy coins have long been criticized for their role in money laundering and illicit activities.

Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill fights money laundering by requiring exchanges to record both parties of a cryptocurrency transaction. Monero’s use of a ring signature scheme that obscures a payment’s origin makes the coin mostly incompatible with the new MiCA rules.

In the meantime, companies wanting to operate in Europe must secure licenses from local regulators such as the AMF. Last month, Binance exited the Netherlands after failing to secure permission from the Dutch central bank.

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