Societe Generale’s new EUR-based stablecoin officially listed on BitStamp

Leading French lender Societe Generale recently launched its brand new stablecoin, and it has already reached its first major crypto exchange — BitStamp.

The stablecoin, based on the euro, will allow investors in the cryptoasset ecosystem, as well as those interested in traditional financial markets, to make transactions based on the EUR CoinVertible (EURCV).

📢 NEW! We're the first exchange to list $EURCV!

EUR CoinVertible is Societe Generale-FORGE's innovative stablecoin, aiming for stability and safety in the volatile world of digital assets. 🌐

You can start trading it on Bitstamp today.

Dive in for more details:… pic.twitter.com/Lt98ysjfeo

— Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) December 6, 2023

According to the bank, there is growing demand for a robust settlement and store-of-value asset for on-chain transactions, as well as for cash pooling and cash management activities. The stablecoin will be able to satisfy that demand in addition to offering enhanced collateral management.

The bank also needed to ensure liquidity for the asset, and in order to do it, it appointed FlowDesk as a market maker for the EURCV-EUR and EURCV-USDT pairs, which are currently live on BitStamp.

During the initial phase, deposits and withdrawals will be limited to investors whitelisted by SG-FORGE.

— Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) December 6, 2023

The next step in reaching crypto adoption

Commenting on the new development, Societe Generale-Forge’s Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Marc Stenger, said that this is the first EUR-based stablecoin issued by a fully regulated subsidiary of a global bank. As such, EURCV’s minting and listing on BitStamp are exciting moments for the financial industry.

With this step, the industry, as well as the bank itself, are one step closer to achieving mainstream adoption of digital currencies. Stablecoins play a large role in that mission, as they combine the stability of fiat currencies with the advantages of blockchain-based assets, such as cheap and fast transactions.

That puts them in a perfect position to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional finance. They offer the best of both worlds while also supporting the goal of increased financial inclusion.

The token’s public rollout came right after the successful completion of a green bond transaction that used EURCV with AXA Investment Management earlier this very week.

The first EUR-based stablecoin

The stablecoin runs on Ethereum’s network, and it was initially introduced to the public earlier this year, in April. At the time, Societe Generale-Forge, the crypto division of the French lender, introduced it as a way for institutional clients to bridge traditional capital markets and digital assets.

Now, the token’s listing on Luxembourg-based Bitstamp will extend its access to retail traders, as well. More importantly, it represents the first-ever case that an EUR-based stablecoin was created by a traditional banking institution, thus making it a historic event.

For now, the stablecoin market is still dominated by Tether (USDT), followed by Circle’s USDC. However, both of these are based on the USD. The exchange’s CEO, Jean Baptiste-Graftieaux, said that the listing of EURCV represents “the next step in building markets beyond the current dominance of USD-backed stablecoins.”