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Bitpanda and Société Générale-FORGE: EURCV paves the way for regulated DeFi in Europe
The partnership between Bitpanda and Société Générale-FORGE marks a turning point in the history of stablecoin . For the first time, stablecoin issued by a regulated bank – EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) and USD CoinVertible ( USDC ) – are becoming accessible to the general public. These assets had already existed for several months, but their use was limited to institutional investors. The novelty, therefore, lies not in their creation, but in their availability through Bitpanda, including in its Bitpanda DeFi Wallet, thus enabling their use in decentralized finance.
This movement is not anecdotal: it opens the door to regulated DeFi in Europe, this time supported by a banking infrastructure compliant with MiCA.
Table of contents
Before Bitpanda: EURCV existed but remained invisible
EURCV was launched in 2023 by Société Générale-FORGE (SG-FORGE), the blockchain subsidiary of the Société Générale group. However, despite its unique status as a stablecoin , it was known only to a select few. Access was limited to certain financial institutions.
To put it simply: yes, EURCV existed before Bitpanda, but no one could use it. It wasn't listed on crypto exchanges, wasn't usable in the DeFi ecosystem, and wasn't available to retail investors.
Bitpanda is changing this by becoming the first European platform to offer EURCV andUSDCV to the general public, with KYC, legal framework, and on-chain integration.
Why did Société Générale launch a stablecoin ?
Unlike Tether (USDT) or Circle (USDC), EURCV is not a crypto product. It is a tokenized banking instrument. It is designed for three purposes:
- Create a European alternative to USDT and USDC
- Accelerate the tokenization of financial assets (ETFs, bonds, stocks)
- To serve as a settlement tool in digital banking infrastructures
Asset tokenization is a market estimated to reach $18.9 trillion by 2033, according to the Boston Consulting Group . To participate in this market, Europe needs a stablecoin . EURCV is designed with this in mind.
MiCA : the game-changing regulation
The adoption of the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation has clarified the legal status of stablecoin, renamed "electronic money tokens" in the official text.
The requirements:
- Reserves 100% guaranteed
- Regular audits
- Transparency of collateral assets
- Supervision by European authorities
Société Générale-FORGE, the French-supervised blockchain subsidiary of the Société Générale group, is among the first European banking institutions to issue a stablecoin MiCA regulations , namely EUR CoinVertible (EURCV).
Bitpanda, for its part, is among the first European crypto platforms to have obtained a MiCA issued by the German financial authority BaFin , allowing it to operate legally throughout the European Union.
The collaboration between the two companies is driven by the same objective: to open access to regulated stablecoin and build a digital finance system that conforms to the European framework while remaining connected to Web3 .
Why Bitpanda was chosen by SG-FORGE
Bitpanda doesn't present itself simply as a general crypto platform; it has built much of its credibility on its regulatory footing in Europe. It holds several financial authorizations (including a MiCA issued by BaFin and a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) registration in France) and collaborates with traditional institutions through Bitpanda Technology Solutions .
In parallel, Bitpanda combines this compliance strategy with a strong marketing presence , notably through sports partnerships with Paris Saint-Germain, the ATP Tour, and FC Basel. Its positioning is therefore based on a deliberate balance: reassuring regulators while accelerating mainstream adoption.
In other words, Bitpanda has the expected regulatory profile for distributing digital assets compliant with the European framework. As this test , the platform emphasizes its regulated structure as much as its commercial expansion, combining compliance with a visibility strategy through numerous partnerships.
But this partnership goes beyond simply adding tokens.
Bitpanda brings EURCV to DeFi
The major new development is that the EURCV and USDC stablecoinwill not only be available on the Bitpanda platform, but also in the Bitpanda DeFi wallet. This opens up new possibilities:
- Access to on-chain yields via DeFi
- Loans and borrowing via protocols like Morpho
- Added liquidity to Uniswap
- Fast international transfers
By making these stablecoininteroperable, Bitpanda enables their use in the real crypto economy.
Vision Chain: the centerpiece
One detail in the announcement went almost unnoticed: the future integration of SG-FORGE stablecoin Layer 2 developed by Bitpanda. This new layer aims to connect tokenized assets, regulated financial services, and DeFi.
Strategic objective:
- Create a European alternative to American L2s like Base or Optimism
- Integrating native banking stablecoininto the infrastructure
- Enabling the transfer of assets between multiple on-chain ecosystems
- To serve as a basis for future European bonds and tokenized shares
Vision Chain could become the first DeFi infrastructure compatible with banking regulations.
Comparison: Bank stablecoin vs. Crypto stablecoin
| Characteristic | EURCV (SG-FORGE) | USDC (Circle) | USDT (Tether) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Bank | US Company | Offshore company |
| MiCA Regulation | Yes | Yes | No |
| Transparency | Audited | Good | Limited |
| Retail access | From 2025 via Bitpanda | Overall | Overall |
| DeFi Usage | In progress | Massive | Massive |
One risk: banking centralization in DeFi
Despite its appeal, EURCV is highly centralized. SG-FORGE has the ability to freeze funds via the smart contract , in accordance with MiCA . The question arises: will European DeFi become regulated and monitored? This is the gamble Bitpanda is taking, opting for an institutional approach rather than anonymity and complete decentralization.
Conclusion
With the integration of EURCV on Bitpanda, Europe is finally entering the stablecoinbattle. But it's doing so with a different strategy: banked, regulated, DeFi-compatible, and aligned with traditional finance. This partnership between Bitpanda and Société Générale-FORGE opens the first chapter: that of European institutional DeFi, which is already lagging far behind American institutional DeFi.
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Yoann
Training engineer, I quickly became interested in the field of finance. Convinced that decentralized finance has a bright future ahead of it, I participate in its democratization by developing Crypternon.
