In the rapidly evolving stablecoin sector, Société Générale is establishing itself as a leading player. This position allows its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURCV, to enter the DeFi space, with loans now available against Bitcoin.
Morpho: borrow the EURCV stablecoin with Bitcoin
Decentralized finance (DeFi) has experienced unprecedented growth on the Ethereum blockchain since 2020. Since then, innovations have followed one after another to make it accessible to as many people as possible, such as the emergence of Wrapped Bitcoin.
A wrapped version of BTC issued in the form of a token compatible with the relevant blockchain, comparable to the current principle of tokenization. However, it was not until much later—in September 2024—that the Coinbase platform launched its cbBTC version.
This context is necessary to understand the innovation recently implemented by the Morpho (MORPHO) innovation. It now allows cbBTC to be deposited as collateral in order to borrow the euro-backed stablecoin EURCV. Why is this significant? Because it is the stablecoin compatible with the MiCA regulation issued by Société Générale, via its digital subsidiary FORGE.
An important foray into DeFi
In practice, this borrowing procedure does not currently require any Know Your Customer (KYC) identification and, according to the data available on the Morpho protocol website, it involves a borrowing rate of 2.36%.
However, the possibility of obtaining EURCV stablecoins in exchange for Bitcoin remains fairly symbolic for the time being, with a Vault whose liquidity barely exceeds €8,000. This is because they cannot be used on any DeFi protocol. As a result, this new feature does not really present any speculative interest.
According to journalist and institutional research director at Blockstories, Louis Tellier, Société Générale’s foray into DeFi with the EURCV stablecoin appears to be a significant development. This is because its deployment in decentralized finance had previously been “held back by internal opposition within the banking group.” This is clear evidence that things are moving in the right direction.
