SG-Forge, the digital asset division of French bank Societe Generale, has launched a euro-denominated stablecoin on the ethereum public blockchain

Societe Generale–FORGE, a fully integrated and regulated subsidiary of Societe Generale group dedicated to digital assets, launches the EUR CoinVertible, a digital asset that purports to maintain a stable value (stablecoin). EUR CoinVertible is deployed in Euro denomination on the Ethereum public blockchain (ticker code: EURCV).

This pioneering project complements SG-FORGE’s business offer to institutional clients seeking to benefit from innovative settlement and cash management solutions. It is designed to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets and the digital assets ecosystem based on the CAST[1] open-source interoperability and securitization framework.

It is part of with Societe Generale group’s strategy, developing initiatives in the field of digital assets in a secure and transparent framework for institutional investors, fully in line with banking, legal and regulatory standards.

While the regulatory framework related to digital assets at European level will be modified by the upcoming European digital assets regulations “MiCAR”[2] and “Pilot Regime”, EUR CoinVertible, in accordance with the French legal framework applicable to digital assets, has been designed to address growing client needs for:

. a robust settlement asset for on-chain transactions,

. an innovative solution for corporate treasury, cash management and cash pooling activities,

. on-chain liquidity funding and refinancing solutions,

. a solution for intra-day liquidity needs (e.g. margin calls).

EUR CoinVertible has been construed as a ‘digital asset’ (“actif numérique” as defined in Article L. 54-10-1 of the French Financial and Monetary Code) designed to fulfill institutional investors’ expectations. Its main characteristics are the following:

. a secure legal structure guaranteeing (i) the complete segregation of the collateral assets held to back the value of the stablecoins from the issuer, (ii) with a direct access given to token-holders on the collateral assets, and (iii) the implementation of business continuity plan mechanisms in case of a market or technological event,

. stringent and predefined collateral eligibility criteria (minimum rating, liquidity),

. daily transparency on EUR CoinVertible amount and collateral positions, as well as on the value and composition of the collateral, available on SG-FORGE website,

. request to assign a credit rating to the EUR CoinVertible made to a leading independent credit rating agency,

. access to EUR CoinVertible limited to investors onboarded by Societe Generale group through its existing compliance procedures (KYC / AML-CFT, etc.),

. interoperability and compatibility of the EUR CoinVertible with traditional systems and financial practices thanks to its implementation under the principles of the CAST framework,

. publication of the source code of the EUR CoinVertible’s smart contract under the Apache 2.0 open source license.

For more information, the full version of EUR CoinVertible’s white paper is available here.

Jean-Marc Stenger, Chief Executive Officer at SG-FORGE said: “Digital assets with stabilisation mechanisms – i.e. stablecoins – built under a robust banking-grade structure will be a key element to increase trust and confidence in the native crypto ecosystem. This issuance is a major step in Societe Generale–FORGE’s roadmap to deliver innovative solutions to its clients, either real-money institutions and corporates or entities of the crypto industry, and to facilitate the emergence of new market infrastructures based on blockchain technology.”

To provide exposure on its product to the largest number of qualified institutional investors, SG-FORGE will work with reputable digital asset exchanges and trusted third-party platforms to have the EUR CoinVertible stablecoin listed in the coming months.

For this first CoinVertible issuance, SG-FORGE has been advised by the law firm White & Case. The role of the initial fiduciary is provided by Equitis Gestion. The smart contract has been audited by PwC.

The smart contract’s public address of the EUR CoinVertible is the following:

0xf7790914Dc335B20Aa19D7c9C9171e14e278A134

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Societe Generale–FORGE, a fully integrated and regulated subsidiary of Societe Generale Group, licensed as an investment firm and authorized to provide MiFID2 investment services under the supervision of the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution), and under the control of the Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers – AMF) and registered as PSAN (“Prestataire de Services sur Actifs Numériques” / Digital Asset Service Provider) by the AMF. Societe Generale–FORGE has built an open, secure and institutional-grade platform for digital asset operations, underpinned by full banking level safety and regulatory compliance.

Since 2019, SG-FORGE has been active in structuring and providing services on native digital bonds and structured products deployed on public blockchains. SG-FORGE was notably mandated by the European Investment Bank in 2021 to perform the structuring and the deployment of its inaugural digital bond issuance. More recently, SG-FORGE has developed innovative refinancing solutions based on decentralized finance protocols (‘DeFi’), with a first use case developed with the market-leading DeFi protocol MakerDAO. SG-FORGE is also deeply involved in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) experiments with different G7 Central Banks using CBDC for on-chain settlements and delivery-versus-payment mechanisms.

SG–FORGE’s solutions and digital assets comply with the CAST open-source interoperability and securitization framework.