Consensys and Societe Generale - Forge: A Partnership for Central Bank Digital Currency Experiments

Societe Generale - Forge is a fully integrated subsidiary of Societe Generale Group, one of the leading European financial services groups. It provides issuers and investors, either Corporates or Financial Institutions, with end-to-end services to issue and manage digital-native financial products registered on the blockchain (Security Token). For market infrastructure operators, it builds open, simple, secure, and institutional-grade frameworks and models for Security Token operations, underpinned by banking class security and full regulatory compliance. Societe Generale - Forge is progressively building its ‘compliant by design’ platform capabilities.

Societe Generale - Forge, the digital capital markets platform of the Societe Generale Group, was in need of technology and services for its ongoing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot activities. The challenge was to continue building upon its recent groundbreaking achievements such as the issuance of a 100 million Euro covered bond on blockchain in 2019, and the issuance of a 40 million Euro bond that was settled with a CBDC in 2020, a joint project with the Banque de France, the French central bank. The focus was on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment, and cross-ledger interoperability.

To address this challenge, Societe Generale - Forge selected Consensys, the leading Ethereum software company, to provide technology and services. Consensys, known for enabling developers, enterprises, and people worldwide to build next-generation applications, launch modern financial infrastructure, and access the decentralized web, was chosen for its expertise in the field. The partnership will focus on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment, and cross-ledger interoperability. This collaboration is expected to further enhance the achievements of Societe Generale - Forge in the digital currency space.

• The partnership between Consensys and Societe Generale - Forge is expected to bring about significant operational results. With Consensys' technology and expertise, Societe Generale - Forge will be able to further its CBDC pilot activities, focusing on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment, and cross-ledger interoperability. This collaboration will not only enhance Societe Generale - Forge's capabilities in the digital currency space but also contribute to the development of next-generation applications, modern financial infrastructure, and access to the decentralized web.