French bank Societe Generale completes its first on-chain digital bond issuance in the United States

French bank Societe Generale has completed its first on-chain digital bond issuance in the United States, utilizing tokenization technology from Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. and conducted on the Canton blockchain. The bonds were issued in the form of security tokens registered by Societe Generale-FORGE (SG-FORGE), Societe Generale's digital asset subsidiary. DRW , a trading firm known for its market innovation, purchased the bonds, which are short-term floating-rate debt securities linked to SOFR.

This bond issuance is one of the pioneering digital securities offerings for institutional investors in the United States. This move marks a further expansion of Societe Generale's capabilities in the digital asset space. Since 2019, SG-FORGE has successfully completed multiple tokenization offerings in Europe, providing end-to-end services from issuance to management to support digitally native financial products registered on the blockchain.

This first U.S. digital bond was issued on the Canton public network, originally developed by Digital Asset to enable instant on-chain transfer of securities while allowing issuers and registrars to follow the practices and requirements of traditional capital markets.

Furthermore, these bonds are among the first securities to utilize Broadridge for the tokenization of financial assets. This capability enables businesses to issue securities digitally, providing greater transparency and traceability, and improving transaction speed and settlement efficiency. Broadridge and SG-FORGE run nodes on the Canton Network's decentralized interoperability infrastructure, Global Synchronizer, and are managed using IntellectEU's Catalyst Blockchain Manager. These tools collectively supported Societe Generale's first tokenized bond issuance in the United States and open the door to future issuance opportunities and potential other applications.

BNY, one of the leading third-party intermediaries in the global debt capital market, will act as the payment agent for this bond issuance, and Mayer Brown will serve as legal counsel to French bank Societe Generale for this digital bond issuance.

This successful transaction in the US market is an important step toward future tokenized asset issuance (including structured products), demonstrating Societe Generale's strong commitment to providing value-added services to its clients by leveraging its expertise in financial structure design and SG-FORGE technology.

Jean-Marc Stenger, CEO of SG-FORGE, said: “The success of this offering underscores our industry leadership in security tokenization and demonstrates Societe Generale’s ability to securely put new financial instruments on-chain in complex legal and regulatory environments.”

Chris Zuehlke, Global Head of Cumberland, Digital Assets at DRW, said: “Issuing these landmark digital bonds is an important step in building the future of finance. As a long-time advocate for innovation in financial markets, we believe that tokenization has the potential to improve efficiency, transparency, and accessibility across the entire ecosystem. This also reflects the accelerating trend of institutional adoption of digital-native assets.”

Horacio Barakat, Head of Digital Innovation at Broadridge, stated: “By enabling on-chain issuance of corporate debt on a public blockchain, we are opening up new distribution channels for issuers and their partners. This development extends our tokenization capabilities from U.S. Treasury securities to a wider range of asset classes, enhancing the liquidity and collateral value of these assets in margin and secured financing. Broadridge is driving the next phase of tokenization by building the infrastructure that underpins on-chain capital markets, expanding liquidity, and broadening investor access.”

Yuval Rooz, CEO and co-founder of Digital Asset, said: “We congratulate Societe Generale on its advancement of the digitalization of capital markets, demonstrating how regulated entities can issue and manage real financial instruments on-chain with the same rigor and confidence as traditional markets. By combining the mature structure of the existing financial system with the transparency, efficiency, and interoperability of digital infrastructure, this issuance demonstrates how tokenization can genuinely enhance market functioning and open up new opportunities for institutions and investors.”

Cécile Nagel, Head of Trust at BNY, stated: “What the market needs is execution, not just a vision. Our capabilities enable issuers like Societe Generale to turn innovation into reality. Digital bonds improve efficiency, open up new markets for issuers, and enhance asset liquidity. By leveraging BNY’s trusted services and operational reliability, we are reshaping finance—providing seamless access to digital markets, supported by traditional market infrastructure.”

Regarding Societe Generale

Societe Generale is one of Europe's leading banks, employing approximately 119,000 people and serving over 26 million customers in 62 countries worldwide. For 160 years, the bank has supported economic development, providing diversified value-added advisory and financial solutions to corporate, institutional, and individual clients. Long-standing and strong client relationships, cutting-edge expertise, unique innovation, ESG capabilities, and a leading business system are the core DNA of the bank, aiming to achieve sustainable value creation for all stakeholders.

The Group operates three complementary business segments and provides ESG-related services to all its clients:

• French retail, private banking and insurance businesses: including leading retail bank SG and insurance businesses, high-end private banking services, and leading digital bank Boursorama.
• Global Banking & Investor Solutions: As a top-tier wholesale bank, we provide customized financial solutions and are a global leader in equity derivatives, structured finance, and ESG.
• Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services: encompassing established integrated banks (Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new brand of ALD and LeasePlan, a global player in sustainable mobility), and specialized financing services.

Societe Generale is committed to building a better, more sustainable future with its clients, aiming to become a leading partner in environmental transition and sustainable development. The Group has been included in major socially responsible investment indices, including DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, the Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), the STOXX Global ESG Leaders Index, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (Global and Europe).

Regarding Societe Generale-FORGE

Societe Generale-FORGE is the digital asset subsidiary of Societe Generale, holding an investment company license and authorized in the European Economic Area (EEA) for MiFID II investment services and MiCA crypto asset services. It is regulated by the French Prudential Regulation and Solutions Authority (ACPR) and the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). SG-FORGE is also authorized by the ACPR as an electronic money institution. SG-FORGE has issued MiCA-compliant stablecoins EUR CoinVertible and USD CoinVertible.

SG-FORGE has built an open, secure, and institutional-grade digital asset trading platform with bank-level security and compliance guarantees. Its developed digital solutions and assets conform to the CAST open-source interoperability and security market model.