The digital asset subsidiary of French banking group Societe Generale-FORGE and global financial messaging provider Swift have completed a pilot program that demonstrated the exchange and settlement of tokenized bonds using both fiat money and digital currencies. The initiative showed how traditional financial instruments can be issued, settled, and managed on distributed ledger technology while remaining compatible with established financial infrastructure.
According to Societe Generale-FORGE, the pilot successfully covered the full lifecycle of tokenized bonds. This included the initial issuance process, delivery-versus-payment settlement, periodic coupon distributions, and final redemption at maturity. The results illustrated that tokenized securities can function within familiar capital markets processes while benefiting from automation and on-chain efficiency.
Stablecoins and Interoperability at the Core
A central component of the trial was EUR CoinVertible, Societe Generale-FORGE’s euro-denominated stablecoin that complies with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation. The stablecoin was designed specifically for on-chain settlement and was shown to work seamlessly with Swift’s interoperability capabilities. This compatibility allowed transactions to move across multiple systems without compromising regulatory or operational standards.
The pilot also followed recent developments by Societe Generale-FORGE in the stablecoin space. In September, the firm partnered with Bullish Europe GmbH, a Germany-regulated digital asset trading and custody provider overseen by BaFin, to introduce USD CoinVertible. With both euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins now available, Societe Generale-FORGE and Bullish Europe have indicated that they aim to play a leading role in regulated stablecoin adoption that connects traditional financial infrastructure with blockchain-based markets.
Building on Long-Term Collaboration
This latest pilot builds on several years of collaboration between Societe Generale-FORGE, Swift, major financial institutions, and public sector entities. Together, these participants have been working to create a secure and interoperable framework for digital assets that can scale across borders and institutions.
Swift’s function as an orchestration layer proved to be a key element of the project. The firm coordinated messaging and settlement instructions across multiple platforms while preserving compliance with widely used financial messaging standards. This approach demonstrated how tokenized assets can be integrated into existing workflows rather than requiring a complete overhaul of current systems.
The initiative also drew on experimental efforts by the European Central Bank related to interbank central bank digital currency. By incorporating both fiat currencies and stablecoins as settlement assets, the pilot examined hybrid settlement models that could be attractive to banks and corporate users seeking flexibility and regulatory clarity.
Operational Standards and Market Impact
All settlement flows in the pilot were executed using Swift infrastructure and ISO 20022 standards. This reinforced the feasibility of adopting tokenized assets within existing regulatory and operational environments. The results suggested that tokenized bonds can settle efficiently through familiar channels, opening the door to broader market adoption.
By validating settlement over Swift, the project highlighted a realistic pathway toward shorter settlement cycles, lower operational risk, and improved transparency for capital markets participants. These benefits are often cited as key advantages of tokenization, and the pilot provided tangible evidence that they can be achieved without sacrificing compliance or reliability.
Strategic Implications for Digital Assets
Swift’s tokenized assets leadership has emphasized that the pilot illustrates how interoperability is likely to influence the future of capital markets. The demonstration showed that financial institutions can adopt digital assets with confidence and at scale when interoperability is addressed from the outset.
Societe Generale-FORGE’s leadership has also indicated that the collaboration supports the broader adoption of efficient, fast, and secure payment solutions for banks and corporate clients. The use of distributed ledger technology alongside EUR CoinVertible as a reference stablecoin was presented as a practical model for future financial market infrastructure.
Tested with participating banks, the pilot forms part of Swift’s wider digital asset program. As part of this initiative, Swift has been working with more than 30 global banks, including Societe Generale and Societe Generale-FORGE, on shared digital ledger solutions designed to enable real-time, continuous cross-border payments.
