Societe Generale, a French multinational financial conglomerate, has launched its inaugural digital green bond on a blockchain network. As per a Reuters report, the bank placed nearly $11 million in three-year senior preferred unsecured bonds on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments subscribed fully to the related security tokens through a private placement.
AXA Investment specifically used €5 million in Societe Generale’s euro-denominated ERC-20 stablecoin, EUR CoinVertible (EURCV). The bank aims to utilize the proceeds for environmental projects, such as renewable energy and low-carbon transportation.
Societe Generale introduced its EURCV stablecoin in April 2023, intending to bridge traditional capital markets with the digital asset ecosystem. However, this initiative faced skepticism from Stasis, the firm behind the euro-pegged stablecoin EURS. Stasis highlighted potential risks and concerns about the “single point of failure” related to stablecoins issued by commercial banks.
Criticism wasn’t limited to Stasis, as other analysts also raised questions about EURCV’s smart contract functionality, which seems to rely on a centralized registrar, likely under the bank’s control.