SocGen Shakes Up Crypto: French Banking Titan Drops USD Stablecoin on Ethereum & Solana

Traditional finance meets DeFi—whether it''s desperation or innovation depends who you ask. SocGen just bypassed the usual crypto-native suspects, launching its own dollar-pegged stablecoin directly on Ethereum and Solana. No intermediaries, no apologies.

Why now? The bank''s crypto custody arm clearly sees institutional demand outweighing regulatory hand-wringing. Though let''s be real—after years of dismissing stablecoins as ''risky,'' their sudden embrace reeks of FOMO more than vision.

Watch the suits scramble to catch up while pretending they invented the concept. Bonus irony: this ''disruptive'' move drops just as the ECB pushes a digital euro. Timing couldn''t be more French.

This time, the bank has announced the USD CoinVertible (USDCV), which WOULD offer clients instant 24/7 conversion between fiat currencies and stablecoin.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY) would serve as the custodian for the assets backing the stablecoin, the announcement read. The bank has planned for the USDCV trading rollout to commence next month.

“After the release of a MiCA-compliant EUR stablecoin (EURCV), the launch of a US Dollar version (USDCV) was the obvious next step for Societe Generale–FORGE as market adoption of stablecoins is growing exponentially,” said Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of SG-Forge.

Stenger noted that the stablecoin market is largely USD-denominated. The launch of these “institutional-grade stablecoin” would benefit institutions, corporates or retail investors, he added.

USDCV, EURCV are MiCA-Compliant Stablecoins: SocGen

The bank noted that both USDCV and EURCV are among the first stablecoins fully compliant with the EU’s MiCA regulation.

According to a recent report from Bitvavo and Kaiko, MiCA-compliant stablecoins have begun to dominate Europe’s stablecoin market in 2024. Over 91% of the euro-based stablecoin market share in Europe was held by compliant tokens like EURCV.

Both SocGen’s stablecoins are designed to support crypto trading and cross-border payments, on-chain settlement, forex transactions and collateral management.

The stablecoins will be listed on various crypto exchanges, the bank said, adding that institutional, corporate and retail investors can access these through different crypto brokers and payment service providers.

However, USDCV and EURCV are not available for US clients as they are not registered under the US Securities Act.

Stablecoins Become Priority Among Banks

The announcement arrives at a time when some major banks and fintechs have started different stablecoin initiatives. Analysts at Bernstein Research forecast that global stablecoin circulation could grow to nearly $2.8 trillion by 2028, driven by broader adoption.

Early this year, Standard Chartered partnered with Animoca Brands, and HKT to issue a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin.

Additionally, Bank of America CEO said that the institution is open to launching a stablecoin tied to the U.S. dollar if legal frameworks allow it.