Crédit Agricole's CACEIS secures crypto custody registration in France

CACEIS, Crédit Agricole and Santander's asset servicing arm, has gained approval to provide crypto custody services by French regulators.

The asset servicing bank was registered by France’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on Tuesday June 20, according to the regulator’s website. The news was first reported by CoinDesk.

France is recognized as having one of the most advanced regulatory frameworks in Europe, and CACEIS joins other traditional finance firms such as Societe Generale's Forge and AXA Investment Managers in being registered in the nation.

The news comes as the EU prepares to impose new crypto licensing rules known as MiCA, which will open its doors for registration in 2024.

Figures from December 2021 show that CACEIS has €4.6 trillion ($5.06 trillion) in assets under custody, and €2.4 trillion ($2.64 trillion) under administration. Plus, it is 69.5% owned by Crédit Agricole and 30.5% owned by Banco Santander.

Building a crypto custody solution

Sources in 2021 claimed that CACEIS was in the process of building a cryptocurrency custody solution.

“CACEIS are looking for something which is quite integrated, and they are not looking for something which is just addressing the custody piece, but something that is comprehensive and addressing various needs," a source told CoinDesk in 2021.

Registration with the AMF is required for crypto-related services such as custody, exchange, or trading in France.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange globally, is currently under scrutiny by French authorities for allegedly offering unapproved services prior to its 2022 authorization.