CACEIS Bank, the asset servicing arm of banking giants Crédit Agricole and Santander, has been registered by French regulators to provide crypto custody services. The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) registered CACEIS Bank, which provides services to asset managers such as insurers, pension funds and private equity, as of Tuesday, June 20. This registration puts CACEIS in the same league as other traditional finance firms such as Société Générale’s Forge and AXA Investment Managers, who have been recognized under one of the most advanced crypto regulatory frameworks in Europe.
The move follows rumors that CACEIS, which has 4.6 trillion euros ($5.1 trillion) of assets under custody, has been seeking the crypto regulatory status since 2021. Registration with the AMF is compulsory for those providing crypto custody, exchange, or trading services in France. Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, is currently under investigation by the French authorities for allegedly illegally providing services before it received approval in 2022.
The news comes as traditional finance companies show an increasing interest in the crypto space. Earlier this week, Deutsche Bank revealed it was seeking a crypto custody license in Germany, and the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock last week filed to operate an exchange-traded fund linked to the price of Bitcoin (BTC). The European Central Bank has asked banks to hold high levels of precautionary capital for holdings it deems as risky, though a survey published by the regulator in February said crypto activities and exposures were “insignificant.”