SocGen issues green euro-denominated bond on Ethereum

The transaction amounts to 10 million euros, or roughly $10.8 million, and has a maturity of three years

December 4, 2023 02:17 pm

NeydtStock/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

Societe Generale announced Monday that it issued its first green bond on the Ethereum blockchain.

The transaction — which took place in late November — amounts to 10 million euros, or roughly $10.8 million, and has a maturity of three years.

The tokenized bonds, France’s third-largest bank wrote, will ensure “increased transparency and traceability as well as improved fluidity and speed in transactions and settlements.”

According to a press release, SocGen aims to enable more transparency on ESG by using the blockchain as a “data repository and certification tool for issuers and investors.”

The smart contract of the bond includes carbon footprint information, and is available for anyone to access.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

Societe Generale-FORGE, the bank’s crypto team, released a report focused on the lifecycle of security tokens back in November.

In partnership with the Lamarck Group, Institut Louis Bachelier and the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute, the report sought to develop a methodology to calculate “the carbon footprint of a financial product issued in the form of a token on the Ethereum public blockchain infrastructure.”

It specifically used Ethereum’s network due to the “relatively low greenhouse gas emissions” due to the Merge, which took place in September of last year.

Back in June, the European Investment Bank also issued a tokenized bond, though it used Credit Agricole CIB and SEB’s bond platform built on blockchain technology. The EIB’s bond was structured as a Swedish Krona 1 billion bond, which amounts to roughly $95 million, and has a 2 year maturity.

While the bond is a first for SocGen, it previously collaborated with the EIB on the bank’s first digital bond issuance, which took place back in 2021.

Aside from collaborations, the French bank has proven to be interested in crypto.

Back in April, SocGen’s FORGE team announced its plans for a euro-pegged stablecoin dubbed EUR CoinVertible on the Ethereum blockchain.

The same team also secured a license to operate as a digital asset service provider in France back in July. It registered with the French stock market regulator as a digital asset custodian back in 2022.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens