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Societe Generale's Crypto Arm Rolls Out a Euro-Backed Stablecoin

Tim Fries

Published: April 21, 2023 3:34 am

Last Updated: April 21, 2023 12:37 pm

SG Forge, a digital assets-focused subsidiary of the French bank Societe Generale said today it has rolled out a euro-backed stablecoin to reduce the gap between conventional capital markets and the crypto ecosystem. According to the announcement, this is the first euro-pegged stablecoin launched on a public blockchain.

EURCV Aims to Address Growing Number of Institutional Client Needs

SG Forge, a digital assets arm of the Societe Generale, announced on Thursday the launch of a euro-pegged stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible (EURCV). Built on Ethereum, SG Forge claims EURCV is the first institutional euro-backed stablecoin deployed on a public blockchain.

The crypto subsidiary said EURCV is for institutional clients seeking “to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets and the digital assets ecosystem based on the CAST[1] open-source interoperability and securitization framework.”

SG Forge said the stablecoin is expected to tackle several growing client requirements, such as a reliable settlement asset for on-chain transactions, an innovative solution for cash management, cash pooling, and corporate treasury activities. In addition, the EURCV also aims to address client demand for on-chain liquidity financing and refinancing solutions.

Societe Generale’s digital assets subsidiary obtained approval from France’s stock market regulator AMF to offer crypto custody and trading services in October 2022. The unit, which provides crypto issuers and investors with the capability to issue and manage digital asset products built on the blockchain, began as one of the 60 startups launched through Societe Generale’s global intrapreneurial program.

Growing Number of Euro-backed Stablecoins

With its launch, EURCV joins the small lineup of euro-pegged stablecoins. Most major stablecoins – digital assets designed to maintain a 1:1 peg with a fiat currency – are pegged to the US dollar, the world’s reserve currency.

Last year, payments technology firm Circle, the company behind the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, rolled out Euro Coin (EUROC) – the first stablecoin backed by the euro. EUROC was listed on Coinbase earlier this year, launched under the exchange’s “experimental asset” label.

Considered a safe means of payment and store of value, stablecoins have come under scrutiny by global regulators over the past year, particularly after the disastrous collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) in 2022. The US House Financial Services Committee published a 73-page draft bill on stablecoin regulation this week. According to the draft, the bill would require stablecoin issuers to fully back their digital assets with reserve assets on a “one-to-one basis.”

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist