PARIS (Reuters) -French bank Societe Generale will launch a dollar-backed stablecoin via its crypto subsidiary SG-FORGE, becoming the first major European lender to launch a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency in the booming market for stablecoins.
The cryptocurrency, called “USD CoinVertible”, will exist on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains and is expected to be publicly tradable from July, SG-FORGE said in a statement on Tuesday. BNY Mellon will be the custodian for its reserves, SocGen said.
SocGen’s crypto arm had already launched a euro-based stablecoin, in 2023 but it has not been widely adopted, with just 41.8 million euros ($47.62 million) worth of the token in circulation, according to its website.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency pegged to a traditional currency, usually the dollar, allowing people to move large sums of money without using banks’ payment transfer systems.
They have grown rapidly in recent years, driven by crypto company Tether, which has issued $155 billion of its dollar-pegged token and is the largest stablecoin issuer by far.
SG-FORGE said that its token would be used for crypto trading, cross-border payments, foreign exchange transactions and management of collateral and cash, and will be listed on various crypto exchanges, without giving further details.
($1 = 0.8778 euros)
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)
