Key Takeaways:
- BNP Paribas is collaborating with Swiss cryptocurrency infrastructure company Metaco in an effort to transition to cryptocurrency custody.
- The French lender’s custodian business, BNP Paribas Securities Services, is in charge of more than $13 trillion in assets.
- What digital assets the bank will concentrate on is unknown, as is whether Metaco will act as a custodian or consultant.
Given the ongoing bear market in cryptocurrencies, BNP Paribas, a French multinational banking institution, is said to have partnered with Swiss company Metaco to provide crypto custody services.
Despite the fact that several big banks are moving toward crypto custody, BNP Paribas Securities Services’ status as a key worldwide custodian with about $13 trillion in assets under custody makes this agreement especially noteworthy.
Using firsthand knowledge, CoinDesk reported on the most recent development. With its recent custody technology agreement with Societe Generale (GLE), a French bank, Metaco is quickly emerging as the preferred supplier for banks and other institutions wishing to enter the cryptocurrency market. Along with BBVA (BBVA), Zodia Custody, DBS, and UnionBank Philippines in the past, Metaco recently announced a cooperation with Citigroup (C).
The service offered by Mateco, however, will concentrate on security tokens, or the tokenization of assets such as stocks and other financial instruments, rather than just concentrating on bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, the report does highlight.
Furthermore, Metaco also teamed with the French bank Societe Generale. The growth of banks embracing the custody environment of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was stated previously by Metaco CEO Adrien Treccani in an interview.
“A series of banks that were already working on certain topics suddenly transformed from innovation pilots to concrete go-to-market strategies,” assuring investors that “a series of announcements involving very large custodians” would be made soon. It’s almost FOMO [fear of missing out] because these large banking players understand that their future depends on this capability.”
French banking behemoth recently disclosed that it is currently exchanging digital tokens for short-term asset loans on JPMorgan’s blockchain network.
In order to do research on central bank digital currencies, BNP Paribas is one of a group of French institutions working with a permissioned blockchain initiative run by the French central bank. They trade debt securities (CBDCs).
Major banks are striving to establish themselves in this market as cryptocurrency has grown in popularity leading to greater investors’ interest. In April, Banque Delubac & Cie became France’s first bank to be granted a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) license. Banque Delubac & Cie has announced a partnership with Swiss crypto infrastructure provider Taurus to provide trading and custody services for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tezos.
May was also a good month for France’s crypto scenario, as crypto exchange giant Binance obtained licenses to operate as a registered Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) in France.