French Financial Giant Leverages Ethereum For Issuing First Green Bond Worth $11M

Societe Generale SCGLY announced the issuance of its first-ever digital green bond on the Ethereum public blockchain in the form of a Security Token.

What Happened: SG-Forge, Société’s subsidiary, registered the bond worth around $11 million, and it went live on Nov. 30, 2023. With a maturity of three years, the bond’s green status implies net proceeds to be used for financing or refinancing products and companies classified under the ESG category.

The tokens have been fully subscribed through a private placement by two top-tier institutional investors, AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments.

AXA acquired and spent €5 million worth of Société Générale’s euro-denominated ERC-20 stablecoin called EUR CoinVertible (EURCV). This stablecoin was launched in April 2023.

Ethereum was chosen as the blockchain boasts relatively low greenhouse gas emissions. Société Générale’s stablecoin was also launched on the Ethereum blockchain.

Why It Matters: The green bond’s digital infrastructure enables all-time access to the data on its carbon footprint through the smart contract. It also ensures transparency, better fluidity, and high speed in transactions and settlements.

The bond also has a technical option for investors to settle securities on-chain through the EUR CoinVertible, a euro-pegged stablecoin. 

Amid Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) gaining prevalence globally, the third-largest bank in France said, “While CBDC solutions are being experimented with, this panel of settlement methods demonstrates the large capabilities of SG-FORGE in providing a full spectrum of on-chain services.”

Now Read: Bitcoin ETFs: Taiwan Takes Caution Despite Global Frenzy, Citing Crypto Volatility

Photo: Unsplash