Ethereum studio ConsenSys to work with SocGen on digital euro experiments

Ethereum • October 28, 2020, 5:15AM EDT
UPDATED: October 28, 2020, 5:26AM EDT
The Block

Ethereum development studio ConsenSys has been selected by Societe Generale's blockchain unit Forge to assist in digital euro experiments.

Announcing the news on Wednesday, ConsenSys said it would provide technical expertise to Forge, mainly focusing on central bank digital currency (CBDC) "issuance and management, delivery versus payment, and cross-ledger interoperability."

Forge has been working with the central bank of France on testing the digital euro. In May, both parties ran an experiment that saw the issuance of bonds as security tokens and its settlement in digital euros. The transaction was worth about $44 million. 

France's central bank is currently also experimenting with a wholesale CBDC, along with Forge and some other financial institutions, including HSBC and SEBA Bank. The central bank is also open to exploring a retail digital euro, its governor François Villeroy de Galhau said recently.

ConsenSys, on its part, is expanding its efforts in the CBDC space. Ken Timsit, global head of enterprise solutions at ConsenSys, said the studio has so far assisted six central banks on CBDC projects. Just last month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority also awarded a CBDC study project to ConsenSys.

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