French Bank to Offer Bitcoin Buy/Sell and HODL Services

French bank Delubac & Cie becomes the first to offer Bitcoin buy/sell and HODL services.

It is only recently that the traditional bank obtained its registration as a PSAN (Digital Assets Service Provider). The PSAN is also referred to as the Digital Asset Service Providers, which was obtained from the AMF (Financial Markets Authority) and the ACPR (Prudential Control and Resolution Authority).

“The DASP license stems from a 2019 law in France and it should prepare banks well for the next phase of the EU regulation — Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCa),” says Taurus co-founder Lamine Brahimi.

The MiCA regulation was brought about in 2020. Notably, it is working its way toward adoption in 2023. Additionally, it is the first EU-wide legislative initiative created to set up an extensive framework for the issuance of and provision of services for crypto assets.

Interestingly, more than half the European population now prefer decentralized exchanges, according to a recent report from the Bank of Spain. The report also claims that France and Germany are the top two crypto friendly countries in Europe.

“But there’s a wide swath of the European public that welcomes the investor protections which come from dealing with a regulated bank,” said Brahimi. He also believes that the demand is now going mainstream because most Europeans are not experts in managing wallets. He goes on to add that the fence-sitters have an interest in trading but would rather deal with current banks than have new accounts with crypto-dedicated firms.

Delubac & Cie is an independent French bank founded by Maurice Delubac in 1924 in Cheylard. It has branches in Paris, Le Cheylard (head office), Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, Nice, Rouen, Strasbourg and Valence.