French regulator approves BPCE’s Hexarq to offer crypto services

The French financial regulator, AMF, has granted approval to BPCE’s crypto subsidiary, Hexarq, to operate in the country.

Hexarq has obtained the status of a crypto asset service provider (CASP), allowing it to offer a range of crypto services, including custody, buying, selling, and trading crypto against the euro.

This approval positions Hexarq to begin offering cryptocurrency investment services to customers of BPCE’s major banking networks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne, in 2025.

BPCE, one of Europe’s top 10 largest banks, launched Hexarq in January 2021 as a platform focused on cryptocurrencies and tokenised real-world assets.

The approval from AMF is a significant step for the bank, which manages around 35 million customers and assets that reached approximately €1.3 million ($1.3 million) by the end of September 2024.

Hexarq becomes the fourth crypto business to gain CASP authorisation from the French regulator, joining Société Générale’s Forge, which received approval in 2023, along with Deblock SAS and GOin SAS, which were approved in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

The French AMF began accepting CASP applications in August 2024, well ahead of the MiCA regulations, set to be enforced on December 30, 2024.

BPCE declined to comment further on the launch specifics, but the development marks a notable move into the cryptocurrency sector by a major European banking group.