Stablecoins & TradFi: A Fireside Chat with the Stellar Development Foundation & Societe Generale

Société Générale Forge, a subsidiary of the 160-year-old French bank, is building euro and dollar stablecoins on the Stellar network. The journey began with internal experiments and eventually led to forming a nimble, startup-like unit outside the bank’s core structure to overcome legacy barriers. They faced significant internal hurdles, including compliance, risk management, and onboarding external partners like exchanges and market makers—often requiring education and training across dozens of departments. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has played a critical role in supporting asset issuers like Société Générale, offering technical guidance, ecosystem connections, audits, and help with liquidity and exchange listings. While integration into DeFi is still in progress due to regulatory limitations, Société Générale and SDF are pushing to build compliant pathways that align with institutional requirements. The collaboration reflects how Stellar’s tech—especially for payments and asset issuance—is becoming a foundation for real-world financial institutions to explore blockchain in a meaningful, scalable way.