SG-FORGE, the cryptocurrency division of Société Générale, has completed the first blockchain-based digital bond issuance in the United States, expanding its footprint in on-chain capital markets. The short-term bonds are linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) and were purchased by trading company DRW.
The bond runs on Canton Network, a privacy-enabled blockchain infrastructure developed by Digital Asset. Canton allows for instant payments while maintaining the legal structure of traditional finance. Broadridge Financial Solutions provides tokenization technology and marked the first time its new platform has been used to issue live securities.
Societe Generale said it has been active in trading digital bonds in Europe since 2019, but this deal opens the door to the U.S. market. The move could eventually lead to more complex products such as structured notes being issued on-chain, the bank said.
“The issuance of these groundbreaking digital bonds is an important step in building the future of finance,” said Chris Zuhlke, Global Head of Cumberland, DRW’s crypto division. “As long-time advocates for innovation in financial markets, we believe that tokenization has the potential to deliver efficiency, transparency, and broad access across the ecosystem.
BNY Mellon is the paying agent. IntellectEU’s Catalyst Blockchain Manager helped run the blockchain infrastructure. Mayer Brown advised the company on legal issues, the documents said.
SG-FORGE goes far beyond tokenized bonds with efforts in the cryptocurrency space. The company recently moved to integrate its euro- and dollar-backed stablecoins into Deutsche Börse’s core market infrastructure.
The company is moving further into decentralized finance, listing regulated stablecoins on Ethereum-based protocols Morpho and Uniswap, allowing institutional investors to use them as collateral.
