Digital assets: SG Forge gets first crypto license in France

Société Générale (SG) Forge has obtained its regulatory license approval as a digital asset service provider (DASP) in France.

The license approval means that SG-Forge becomes the first licensed company to provide services such as buying and selling, custody and exchange of digital assets - the digital assets arm of SG registered the DASP with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) in September 2022.

This step will allow us to continue supporting our institutional clients wishing to benefit from services on digital assets - Jean-Marc Stenger, SG Forge 

With the DASP license, the SG subsidiary reaffirms ‘its pioneering role in the crypto assets ecosystem,’ according to Jean-Marc Stenger (pictured), CEO of SG Forge.

‘This step will allow us to continue supporting our institutional clients wishing to benefit from services on digital assets that meet the highest standards of compliance and banking security,’ he said.

The DASP approval came after SG Forge's launch of the Euro CoinVertible (EURCV) in April, a euro stablecoin on the Ethereum public blockchain that complements the firm’s business offer to institutional clients who seek to ‘benefit from innovative settlement and cash management solutions’. 

SG Forge anticipates the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), with the objective to regulate the crypto-asset market at the European Union level by 2024.

FalconX partners with CF Benchmarks to provide derivatives

Digital asset prime brokerage FalconX has teamed up with CF Benchmarks, a UK-based crypto index, to offer derivatives contracts aimed at ‘enhancing overall market stability and fostering trust among institutional investors’..

The contracts provide access to regulated crypto derivative markets via swaps, options and non-deliverable forwards that settle to single asset reference rates provided by CF Benchmarks.

The contracts provide exposure to Bitcoin settled against the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate and to Etherum settled against the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate.

‘Derivatives benchmarked against resilient and regulated indices are the primary route institutions take to gain exposure to the crypto asset class,’ said Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks.

FalconX Solios has traded exotic options such as binaries linked to CF Benchmarks, Ryan Kim, head of derivatives at FalconX, told SRP in a follow-up email.

OKX launches dual investment products

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has introduced two-day dual investment structures for trading. The non-principal-protected product allows users to ‘buy or sell an options contract and receive returns in either of the cryptocurrencies depending on their target price.’

Using the two new additions - $PEPE and $BCH, investors can choose to select a dual investment listing, expiration date and target price from major crypto pairs such as bitcoin-tether and ether-tetherum.

Recently OKX has also unveiled a new two-day term option for its Dual Investment structured product. Earlier this month, the exchange unveiled a snowball and shark fin structures. 

Nasdaq halts plan for crypto custody service amid US regulatory uncertainty

The US exchange has ditched its plan to launch a cryptocurrency custody service, citing regulatory uncertainty in the US, said CEO Adena Friedman (right) in the company’s corporate earnings call last week.

‘Considering the shifting business and regulatory environment in the US, we’ve made the decision to halt our launch of the US digital assets custodian business and our related efforts to pursue a relevant license,’ Friedman said.

Nasdaq revealed in March that its custody service, which was announced in September 2022, is expected to go live by the end of the second quarter. The firm had applied to the New York Department of Financial Services for a limited-purpose trust company, which would oversee the customer business.

Friedman said Nasdaq will continue to support the digital asset industry including partnerships with potential exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers and providing technology for cryptocurrency custody.

Nasdaq’s move came after a flurry of aggressive regulatory actions from U.S. authorities this year. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler proposed amending federal custody requirements, expanding the rules to include assets like cryptocurrencies.

Valour and Bitcoin Suisse to issue physically-backed ETPs

DeFi Technologies’ subsidiary Valour has parnered with Swiss cryptocurrency firm Bitcoin Suisse to issue exchange-traded-products (ETPs) backed by physical digital assets.

The focus of the collaboration is to launch, list, operate, and distribute ETPs globally –while Valour, the ETPs’ issuer, provides an exchange listing platform for the digital assets, according to a joint statement released on 18 July.

On 15 June, Valour launched its first physically-backed ETP - the 1Valour Bitcoin Physical Carbon Neutral ETP, which aligns with ESG goals by funding certified carbon removal and offset initiatives in order to neutralise the associated Bitcoin carbon footprint, according to the firm.