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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 publicly available. These assets have already existed for several months, but their use was limited to institutional players. The novelty, therefore, lies not in their creation, but in their availability via Bitpanda, including in its Bitpanda DeFi Wallet, which now allows them to be used in decentralized finance.
This movement is not anecdotal: it opens the door to regulated DeFi in Europe, supported this time by a MiCAcompliant banking infrastructure.
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 few insiders. Access was limited to certain financial firms.
To put it simply: yes, EURCV existed before Bitpanda, but no one could use it. It was neither listed on crypto exchanges, nor usable in the DeFi ecosystem, nor available to retail investors.
Bitpanda is changing that by becoming the first European platform to offer EURCV andUSDCto 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)
- Serve as a settlement tool in digital banking infrastructures
Asset tokenization is a market estimated to be worth $18.9 trillion by 2033, according to Boston Consulting Group . To participate in this market, Europe needs a stablecoin . EURCV is positioned with this in mind.
MiCA : the regulation that changes the game
The adoption of the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation clarified the legal status of stablecoin, renamed "electronic money tokens" in the official text.
The requirements:
- 100% guaranteed reserves
- Regular audits
- Transparency of collateral assets
- Supervision by European authorities
Société Générale-FORGE, the blockchain subsidiary of the Société Générale group supervised in France, is among the first European banking players to issue a stablecoin aligned with the MiCA , with the 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 , which allows it to operate legally throughout the European Union.
The merger between the two players is part of the same logic: opening access to regulated stablecoin and building digital finance compliant with the European framework while remaining connected to Web3 .
Why Bitpanda was chosen by SG-FORGE
Bitpanda doesn't just present itself as a general crypto platform: it has built a large part of its credibility on its regulatory anchoring in Europe. It holds several financial authorizations (including a MiCA issued by BaFin and a PSAN registration in France) and collaborates with traditional institutions via Bitpanda Technology Solutions .
At the same time, 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 its mainstream adoption.
In other words, Bitpanda has the expected regulatory profile to distribute digital assets compliant with the European framework. As can be seen in this test , the platform emphasizes both its regulated structure and its commercial expansion, combining compliance and visibility strategy through numerous partnerships.
But this partnership goes further than just adding tokens.
Bitpanda Brings EURCV to DeFi
The big news 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 uses:
- Access to on-chain yields via DeFi
- Lending and borrowing via protocols like Morpho
- Adding 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 that went almost unnoticed in the announcement was the upcoming 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
- Enable the transfer of assets between multiple on-chain ecosystems
- Serve as the basis for future European tokenized bonds and shares
Vision Chain could become the first DeFi infrastructure compatible with banking regulation.
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 |
A risk: banking centralization in DeFi
Despite its appeal, EURCV is highly centralized. SG-FORGE has the ability to freeze funds via smart contract , in compliance with MiCA . The question arises: will European DeFi become regulated and monitored? This is the bet taken by Bitpanda, which chooses the institutional approach over anonymity and total 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 a first chapter: that of European institutional DeFi, which is already lagging well 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.
