Société Générale, one of the giants of traditional banking, has taken a new step that has caused a stir in the cryptocurrency market. The bank's digital asset subsidiary SG Forge is preparing to launch USD CoinVertible (USDCV), a new dollar-backed stablecoin that will run on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
Société Générale announces new stablecoin plan
SG Forge, the digital asset subsidiary of Société Générale, one of France's leading banking groups, is preparing to launch a new US dollar stablecoin that will run on Ethereum and Solana blockchains. The stablecoin will be called USD CoinVertible (USDCV) and its reserve manager will be BNY Mellon, one of the world's most established financial institutions. Trading is scheduled to begin in July.
This is Société Générale's second major step towards developing digital asset-based solutions on public blockchains. Previously, in April 2023, the company launched the euro-backed EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) stablecoin on the Ethereum network for institutional clients only. EURCV was designed to comply with Europe's crypto asset regulation MiCA and was the first example of SG Forge's regulatory-focused approach.
With the new dollar-backed version, USDCV, SG Forge is stepping into the much larger and highly competitive dollar stablecoin market. According to the company, USDCV, like the euro version, is designed to comply with MiCA regulations and will be offered as an Electronic Money Token (EMT). SG Forge's electronic money license from ACPR, the France-based financial supervisory authority, strengthens the legal framework of this process.
Stablecoins attract attention in traditional finance
BNY Mellon will act as the reserve custodian for USDCV and transactions will begin in July. Carolyn Weinberg, Director of Product and Innovation at BNY Mellon, pointed out that stablecoins are leading the transformation of cash markets and said, “With 24/7 transaction capability, stablecoins are at the center of the growing infrastructure of the digital asset economy.” Thanks to USDCV, individual users, especially institutional investors, will be able to instantly convert between fiat and stablecoins around the clock.
Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of SG Forge, stated that the launch of USDCV was a natural step, “After launching a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin with EURCV, it became inevitable to launch the dollar version. The demand for stablecoins is growing exponentially.” However, another noteworthy detail is that USDCV will only be accessible to users outside the US.
The company said that both USDCV and EURCV are designed for a wide range of use cases, including crypto trading, cross-border payments, on-chain settlement, foreign exchange transactions and collateral and cash management. The stablecoins will be listed on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges and made available to institutional, corporate and retail investors through brokers and payment service providers, the company added.
