British financial software firm Finastra has signed three global banks on its R3 Corda blockchain-based syndicated loans platform, the firm officially announced on May 14. France-based banking institutions BNP Paribas, Natixis, and Societe Generale have officially joined Finastra’s syndicated lending platform Fusion LenderComm, following previous pilots back in 2017. Based on blockchain consortium R3’s open source blockchain platform Corda Enterprise, Finastra’s Fusion LenderComm reportedly enables banks to instantly share credit agreements, accrual balances and position data to lenders. Cécile Bartenieff, Chief Operating Officer of Global Banking and Investor Solutions at Societe Generale, stated that the Fusion LenderComm initiative will bring …

The French stock markets regulator AMF has seen over a 14,000% surge in enquiries related to fraudulent crypto offers in 2018 as opposed to 2016, the agency wrote in a new annual report released May 7. In the report, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) specified that the number of enquiries associated with crypto-related scams online has surged to over 2,600 in 2018 from only 18 similar enquiries back in 2016. With that, the amount of fraudulent online offers in other industries such as foreign exchange (forex) and binary options have significantly decreased, the AMF noted. As such, fraudulent offers …

French hardware wallet producer Ledger is set to provide its secure crypto infrastructure solution to regulated Canadian crypto exchange National Digital Asset Exchange (NDAX), according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph on April 29. NDAX — which offers crypto asset trading services for both retail and institutional clients — will use Ledger’s institution-grade wallet management solution, dubbed Ledger Vault. Ledger Vault provides a multi-authorization governance infrastructure for crypto assets, and has been designed with enterprise and institutional custodian and asset managers’ needs in mind, according to the press release. The solution’s governance framework reportedly enables users’ private keys to …

63% of Europeans are confident that crypto will still exist in 10 years, according to new research from bitFlyer. London-based fintech publication FStech reported on the survey on April 24. Tokyo-based crypto exchange bitFlyer, which was licensed to operate in the European Union in 2018, reportedly polled 10,000 respondents in Europe to find out what they think about cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC). The exchange reportedly surveyed the following ten countries: the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Spain. When asked about crypto in general, the majority of Europeans claimed that they believe that crypto …

French specialized credit institution Societe Generale SFH issued a 100 million euro ($112 million) bond as a security token on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The company announced the development on its website on April 23. Societe Generale SFH — which is a subsidiary of one of Europe's largest financial services groups, Societe Generale Group — has rolled out its first pilot project developed in collaboration with Societe Generale FORGE. The latter is an internal startup launched through the Group’s intrapreneurial program, the Internal Startup Call. The transaction’s goal was to investigate a more efficient way for bond issuance, which would …

France’s Minister of State for the Digital Sector, Cédric O, has said he is open to cooperating with cryptocurrency platforms to enable crypto donations for the reconstruction of the Notre Dame cathedral. The news was reported by Bloomberg on April 17. The medieval cathedral suffered a blaze on April 15 that nearly destroyed the world-renowned landmark. Within just two days, donations for the monument’s reconstruction are reportedly approaching 900 million euros (over $1 billion). Cédric O — whose ministry works under the aegis of France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire — noted that the government’s newly-launched website …

BlockShow, an international blockchain event powered by Cointelegraph, has started a campaign to raise cryptocurrency for the Notre Dame cathedral reconstruction. The news was announced on BlockShow’s official Twitter account on April 16. In the tweet, the team behind BlockShow revealed that it has initiated a fundraising campaign for the Notre Dame reconstruction following the devastating fire that engulfed the cathedral yesterday, April 15. The BlockShow team posted two digital currency wallet addresses where everyone interested can transfer donations in both bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), as well as a link to the Foundations Du Patrimoine, which is raising donations …

France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, has stated that blockchain technology is a priority for his country’s government. Le Maire made his remarks during an interview with French economics and business magazine Capital on April 15, ahead of the Paris Blockchain Week Summit from April 16-17. As proof of France’s commitment to the nascent sector, Le Maire revealed that the state plans to invest 4.5 billion euros ($5 billion) in breakthrough innovations — including blockchain — in a bid to fight Chinese and American technological dominance. Aside from funding, he underscored the blockchain regulatory progress heralded by …

France is reportedly going to try to convince other European Union member states to adopt cryptocurrency regulations similar to its own, Reuters reported on April 15. Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of the Economy and Finance, reportedly stated that France will encourage other EU countries to adopt cryptocurrency regulations similar to those France approved last week. The news rules reportedly aim to attract cryptocurrency issuers and traders to France by providing them some official recognition, while taxing their profits in return. Per the newly adopted regulation, cryptocurrency operators will have to apply for a certification that would purportedly enable authorities …

Switzerland-based food giant Nestlé, French supermarket chain Carrefour and IBM have partnered to use the latter’s blockchain technology to track a famous French convenience food, the companies announced in a press release on April 15. Nestlé and Carrefour, both of which are members of IBM’s Food Trust blockchain platform, will use the technology from today to track the supply chain of Mousline, a well-known brand of instant mashed potatoes. Once it rolls out, shoppers will be able to scan a QR code with their smartphones to know exactly where the potatoes in a specific packet came from, as well as …

French insurance markets can now invest in cryptocurrencies, following the passage of a new law, foreign exchange news agency FXStreet reports April 11. On April 11, the National Assembly of France adopted a bill that is designed to stimulate local business development, including redirecting savings from individuals to businesses, according to local news agency Les Echos. According to Reuters, the Assemblee Nationale voted 147 in favor and 50 against. Known as “Plan d’action pour la croissance et la transformation des entreprises,” (Pacte) the act reportedly allows insurance providers in France to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) with no …

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has warned the public about a firm offering training courses and software for trading cryptocurrency and investing in forex markets, according to an announcement published on April 9. The AMF — the stock market regulator in France — has issued a warning regarding the operation of Kuvera LLC(1)/Kuvera France, which allegedly promotes trading on “highly speculative products” and targets young people. Specifically, the company offers training courses and software solutions that would ostensibly help clients invest in forex and crypto markets. Additionally, Kuvera offers subscribers compensation that automatically increases with the number of subscribers …