Societe Generale Forge (SocGen Forge) has been granted a full license as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). Last year it registered as a DASP for the trade, sale and custody of crypto assets. Furthermore, it now has the right to receive and transmit orders on behalf of clients and is the only “licensed” DASP so far. Licenses are optional while registration is required.

Licensing has additional requirements, such as having professional liability insurance or a minimum level of capital. A licensee must have internal controls, resilient IT systems, complaints handling, and other controls in place. There are also some basic requirements, such as having customer contracts.

“With the approval of the DASP license, Societe Generale – FORGE confirms its pioneering role in the crypto-asset ecosystem,” said Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of Societe Generale-FORGE. “This step will allow us to continue supporting our institutional clients who wish to benefit from digital asset services that meet the highest standards of banking security and compliance.”

In fact, SocGen Forge has been a pioneer. It has issued its own security tokens on a public blockchain starting in 2019. And it worked with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its first digital bond issuance, also on a public blockchain.

In April, SocGen Forge was the first (subsidiary of a) global systemic bank (G-SIB) to issue a stablecoin on a public blockchain, the Euro CoinVertible (EURCV). However, that brave move has yet to be rewarded. It found significant criticism from the crypto community, who perhaps didn’t realize that the stablecoin is intended for institutional use, not consumers. After the initial minting of 10 million euros, there have been no transactions to date.