According to a last minute report released On Sunday, Société Générale, a major bank in France, quietly received regulatory approval to operate as a digital asset services provider in the country last month.

The French bank has received a digital asset service provider (DASP) license from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial market regulator, allowing it to offer crypto services throughout the country.

As of last month, through its fully integrated blockchain-focused subsidiary, Societe Generale Forge, the banking giant obtained authorization that now allows it to offer crypto services to its clients. The move followed an increasing number of banks gaining approval to provide digital asset services to users in the jurisdiction.

In July, French bank BNP Paribas (BNP) entered the crypto custody space through a partnership with Swiss digital asset custody firm Metaco. In April, the French bank Delubac & Cie, become the first to obtain digital asset service provider status, allowing it to offer regulated crypto services in partnership with Swiss crypto infrastructure provider Taurus.

Cryptocurrency regulation in France took an important step in early May 2022 when crypto exchange Binance was granted digital asset service provider registration. The registration allowed Binance to operate its crypto exchange in France.

The announcement established France as the first major European nation to grant regulatory approval to a crypto exchange. The bold move secured France’s crypto exchange status and began to attract more crypto businesses to operate in the country.

Earlier this month, Crypto.com followed Binance in launching its presence in France after gaining regulatory approval allowing it to operate as a digital asset service provider. From a regulatory perspective, France is considered crypto friendly: it has one of the highest crypto adoption rates in Europe, with 16% of French users holding crypto.

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