Société Générale is preparing to break new ground as the first major global bank to launch a publicly tradable, dollar-backed stablecoin, a move that deepens institutional adoption of blockchain-based finance and signals growing confidence in the role of stablecoins as the future of money movement.
The new digital asset, dubbed “USD CoinVertible”, will be issued by SG-FORGE, the bank’s digital asset-focused subsidiary, and will debut on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. It is expected to begin public trading in July, expanding the reach of the euro-based stablecoin infrastructure SocGen began building in 2023.
Though Société Générale’s earlier euro-denominated token has seen limited uptake—only €41.8 million in circulation—this new dollar-pegged launch aligns with market dynamics where dollar-backed stablecoins dominate global digital asset liquidity, driven primarily by private players like Tether and Circle. By offering a regulated, MiCA-compliant alternative, SG-FORGE aims to capitalize on surging institutional demand for more transparent and regulated stablecoin solutions.
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“There is a very, very strong need for well-regulated, robust offerings in the crypto and stablecoin space,” said Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of SG-FORGE, adding that more than 15 crypto exchanges and brokers are already being onboarded as clients.
The USD CoinVertible will be fully backed by U.S. dollars held in custody by BNY Mellon, one of the world’s largest custodians. Initially, reserves will remain in cash accounts, but SG-FORGE says it will eventually begin investing them into low-risk, yield-generating assets—mirroring a key revenue model used by other stablecoin giants.
A Signal of Growing Institutional Confidence
SocGen’s entry reflects a broader institutional shift into stablecoins, a sector once seen as speculative but now increasingly embraced by banks, fintechs, and governments. Stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies, allow faster and cheaper cross-border payments, facilitate crypto trading, and support blockchain-based finance systems such as DeFi.
Tether, the sector’s dominant force, now has over $155 billion in circulation. In 2024, the company became the seventh-largest buyer of U.S. Treasuries, a testament to the scale and influence that stablecoin issuers now wield in global finance.
Circle, the second-largest issuer, went public on June 5 and saw its shares jump nearly 50% in the first two days of trading, further cementing confidence in the stablecoin business model.
On the policy side, U.S. lawmakers are actively advancing legislation to regulate stablecoins, with bipartisan support emerging for frameworks that would bring transparency to reserve holdings and operational standards. Earlier this year, Bank of America’s CEO confirmed the bank is exploring its own stablecoin, while other major financial institutions are rumored to be considering a joint digital dollar project.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s MiCA regulation, already in force, gives EU-based players like SocGen a legal head start in launching stablecoins that meet rigorous consumer protection and reserve transparency standards—something U.S. regulators are still debating.
Traditional Finance Eyes DeFi Railroads
SG-FORGE’s dollar stablecoin is designed to support a range of use cases, from foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments to collateral management and crypto trading. Unlike earlier bank experiments that limited token usage to internal transfers or private blockchains, this launch is aimed at public crypto markets, a critical leap into a space traditionally dominated by decentralized players.
While crypto-native firms have long ruled the stablecoin space, Société Générale’s move blurs the line between traditional banking and decentralized finance, opening the door for regulated institutions to directly challenge crypto incumbents on their turf.
With the USD CoinVertible rollout, the question now becomes whether regulation, stability, and brand trust can outweigh the speed and first-mover advantage of private issuers like Tether and Circle. SocGen’s push suggests that, at least in Europe and among corporate clients, the answer may be yes.
As the lines between crypto and traditional banking continue to dissolve, the launch of bank-issued stablecoins like CoinVertible is expected to mark the beginning of a new phase—where central banks and commercial banks start shaping the future of money, not from the sidelines, but from the blockchain itself.