ConsenSys To Work With Société Générale on CBDC Pilot
- ConsenSys will work alongside the bank’s digital asset arm, SG Forge, on its continued CBDC pilot.
- The firm will assist with the bank’s research on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment and cross-chain interoperability.
Societe Generale corporate signage by their office in midtown Manhattan in New York, photographed on December 27, 2016. Roman Tiraspolsky/Shutterstock
Ethereum software firm ConsenSys has just been chosen by French bank Société Générale (SG) to assist in its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) research efforts, the firm said in a blog post on 28 October.
According to the announcement, ConsenSys will work alongside the bank’s digital asset arm, the SG Forge, and will provide its technology and expertise as part of SG’s continued CBDC pilot efforts. With this being the sixth CBDC project ConsenSys was involved in, the firm will work mainly on CBDC issuance and management, delivery versus payment and cross-chain interoperability.
The Global Head of Enterprise Solutions at ConsenSys, Ken Timsit, said in a statement:
“We have high regard for the accomplishments of Société Générale – Forge and are proud to be working with them. ConsenSys is committed to advances in the CBDC space and has assisted six central banks around the world on CBDC projects.”
Back in July, SG was selected as one of eight organizations to help the French central bank, Banque de France, with its experimental development work on digital euro for interbank settlements. One of the reasons behind SG being chosen as Banque de France’s partner could be its experience with blockchain technology. Back in 2019, the bank issued a 100 million euro bond as a security token on the Ethereum blockchain to itself, a pilot designed by SG Froge.
This is the second CBDC project awarded to ConsenSys in the past two months. Back in September, the firm was selected to work on the second phase of Project Inthanon-LionRock, a cross-border payment network between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BoT). The firm said at the time:
“ConsenSys is thrilled to lead this implementation of CBDC for cross-border payments. We are humbled to work on the development of Hong Kong’s Financial infrastructure.”
- The head of China’s central bank digital currency institute said the e-CNY has undergone a major upgrade, and should be made available as an option in all retail scenarios.
- The PBOC official noted that platforms can integrate the CBDC in the short term using QR codes, and focus on upgrading their payment tools in the long run.
Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
- The current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced he is joining the race for the 47th president of the U.S. during a Twitter Spaces event on Wednesday.
- During his speech DeSantis declared his support for Bitcoin and the wider crypto space, noting that if Joe Biden is re-elected “they’ll probably end up killing it”.
- Planned for 1 April, the CBDC trial will involve real consumers and real transactions, though they will be limited to a certain number of customers and transfers.
- The pilot, however, will not be opened to the general public in its first phase, and will only be opened to customers chosen by the 13 participating local banks.