Société Générale set to launch euro-pegged stablecoin

• The euro-pegged stablecoin will be the first of its kind in the region.
• The euro-backed EURCV, will allow the bank customers to participate in the digital asset market.
• Currently, larger investment banks such as JPMorgan, even though have their own stablecoins, but they are only available to small groups of institutional clients.

France’s third-largest bank, Société Générale, is all set to announce its native euro-pegged stablecoin, making it one of the first European banking giants to venture into the stablecoin market. France is expected to start trading its stablecoin, called EUR CoinVertible, on Luxembourg-based crypto exchange Bitstamp, according to the news report published in the Financial Times.  

The euro-backed EURCV, will allow the bank customers to participate in the digital asset market. The asset will be available to a broad customer base and can be used for trading. The latest news marks a significant step for traditional financial institutions as the current crypto trading platforms are largely dominated by specialist digital assets firms. Currently, larger investment banks such as JPMorgan, even though they have their own stablecoins, are only available to small groups of institutional clients.

Stablecoins are facing increasing attention from regulators, with the UK setting out proposals to bring the tokens into the real economy last month.  “The crypto ecosystem is highly concentrated on a few existing stablecoins, 90 per cent denominated in US dollars. We definitely think that there is a place for a bank in this field, and there is a place for a euro [denominated] stablecoin,” Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO, Société Générale Forge, was quoted as saying in the Financial Times.

The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Bill, the EU’s flagship digital assets regulation, comes into force next year, and Stenger said that SocGen’s stablecoin is built to align with the rules, adding that “very few stablecoins are compliant with MiCA”.

The Stenger highlighted that the new stablecoin has been developed with a focus on its usage in settling trades involving digital bonds, funds, and various assets. He added that the broad applicability of the stablecoin extends beyond Société Générale’s platform, allowing it to be embraced across different financial service providers.

He added that token holders would face no exposure risk to the French bank itself and have “direct recourse on the collateral asset of the stablecoin”, as the euros would be held in a trust managed by a third party.

“It’s open to anyone who wants to use it, either operations on our own platform or other platforms,” he added.