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Societe Generale Releases “Radically Inefficient” Stablecoin
HomeNewsSociete Generale Releases “Radically Inefficient” Stablecoin

Societe Generale Releases “Radically Inefficient” Stablecoin

Daniela Kirova
Daniela Kirova
April 21st, 2023
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  • Experts call the stablecoin a “laughingstock with the worst code”
  • The EURCV cannot be expected to be competitive
  • Providers will eventually adopt different stablecoins with denylists

A new euro-pegged stablecoin released by French bank Societe Generale-Forge (SGF) has attracted a great deal of criticism after a decision to restrict peer-to-peer transactions, CoinTelegraph wrote.

The bank launched the Ethereum-based stablecoin EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) on April 20, which only qualified institutional clients can access for now.

Experts maintain its smart contract code leaves plenty to be desired. A centralized entity has to approve ERC-20 transfers before the transaction can be processed. In all likelihood, the bank controls the entity.

Excessive regulation

A pseudonymous smart contract engineer tweeted that all users had to be whitelisted, then user transfers processed, and then ERC-20 transfers approved. Only then could the actual transfer be processed, making the stablecoin radically ineffective “in the name of regulation.”

According to another pseudonymous entity, an NFT project creator, the stablecoin is a “laughingstock with the worst code.”

“Baby steps” into blockchain

Ether investor Ryan Berckman finds that traditional finance providers like SGF will be taking “baby steps” into blockchain and digital assets and this is a typical example.

Stablecoins like EURCV cannot be expected to be competitive and eventually providers will adopt different ones with denylists instead of allowlists, such as USDC.

SGF is not the first bank to launch a public blockchain-based institutional stablecoin. National Australia Bank started minting the AUDN stablecoin on the Ethereum Mainnet in March.

A burgeoning trend

The investor expects more banks to follow in their footsteps in the near future, stating that he is sure SGF won’t be the last one to issue stablecoins. Its stablecoin isn’t intended to be used publicly for now. The bank’s stablecoin is only available to institutional clients that have undergone KYC and AML procedures.

EURCV is intended to bridge the gap between traditional capital assets and digital assets. The bank minted a total of 10 million of these tokens on the Ethereum Mainnet in April, Etherscan data shows.

Contributors

Daniela Kirova
Writer
Daniela is a writer at Bankless Times, covering the latest news on the cryptocurrency market and blockchain industry. She has over 15 years of experience as a writer, having ghostwritten for several online publications in the financial sector.