Societe Generale Introduces Services for Asset Managers Developing Crypto Funds

Societe Generale (GLE), the third-largest French bank by market cap, has introduced new services for asset manager clients looking to respond to increased investor demand for cryptocurrency exposure.

The services will allow the asset managers to offer crypto funds in a "simple and adapted" way within a framework compliant with European regulation, the bank said Wednesday.

The service has been adopted by French asset manager Arquant Capital SAS, which is opening a range of funds investing in crypto, starting with two products based on bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and derivatives.

The move by Societe Generale, which had over $1.6 trillion in assets as of 2021 and is among the largest banks in Europe, demonstrates the appetite by mainstream financial institutions to offer crypto-related services to their clients as demand increases.

This has been particularly prevalent among French banking heavyweights in recent months. In July, CoinDesk reported that BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, was entering into crypto custody in a partnership with Swiss digital asset safekeeping firm Metaco.

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