- Société Générale has launched its stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), on Bitstamp
- EURCV is fully backed by cash deposits and has started with an $11.3 million market cap
- Société Générale is the first big bank to offer such a product
Société Générale yesterday revealed that it will launch its own stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), on the Bitstamp cryptocurrency exchange, making it the first major bank to do so. The move signifies a major entry for traditional financial institutions into a domain primarily occupied by specialized digital asset firms. Bitstmap says that the EURCV is backed by deposits in euros and cash equivalents and is secured by a legal structure guaranteeing protection from market crises’.
$11.3 Million Market Cap
Société Générale’s EURCV coin, which is listed globally apart from the US and Singapore, has a total supply of 10.5 million, giving it a market cap of $11.3 million. This puts it in 44th place in the global stablecoin rankings, sandwiched between the YUSD and USDX stablecoins.
In announcing the launch of the EURCV, Bitstamp said EURCV/USDT and EURCV/EUR trading pairs will initially be available, with more pairs and purchasing avenues and full trading options opening up “as soon as the order books gain sufficient liquidity.”
Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of Société Générale Forge, the bank’s digital assets unit, told the Financial Times that there is room for a bank in the stablecoin sector and envisions its stablecoin facilitating settlements in digital bonds, funds, and other assets on crypto exchanges:
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.
MiCA Regulation Factored In
While other major banks, like JPMorgan, have their own stablecoins, Société Générale aims to make its stablecoin widely accessible for trading. Stenger emphasized compliance with the EU’s MiCA regulation, which becomes effective next year, setting its stablecoin apart from others in terms of regulatory alignment.
Société Générale envisions the stablecoin being utilized on different platforms and across various financial services, with no exposure risk to the bank itself and direct recourse on the collateral asset. The move reflects a broader trend among asset managers and banks exploring tokenizing assets such as bonds and funds as digital cash adoption gains traction.
