CTX to debut cross-border trading of tokens backed by China's carbon credits
- Signs MOUs with 3 Chinese entities to issue and facilitate issuance of CTX- proprietary carbon neutrality tokens
- CTX tokens, patents pending, are non-fungible digital twins of carbon credits "frozen" in national carbon registries
- Trading on CTX to begin next month
SINGAPORE, July 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cyberdyne Tech Exchange (CTX) said today that its digital exchange will soon debut cross-border trading of its proprietary Carbon Neutrality Tokens (CNTs) to be backed by the carbon credits of China, the world's largest carbon market.
CTX has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with three Chinese entities to issue and facilitate the issuance of CNTs backed by carbon credits, green infrastructure and real estate projects and insurance products, packaged as Collective Investment Schemes under Singapore's regulatory regime.
CNTs, patent pending, are digital representations of one ton of carbon credits. The latter are tradeable certificates that allow its holder to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. Companies with any unneeded credits may sell them to others that need them; or they can pay for green projects elsewhere to offset their own emissions.
The three Chinese entities are CECEP Green Carbon Investment and Development Co, a subsidiary of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP), China Jinmao Holdings' subsidiary, Jinmao Capital, and China Taiping Insurance Singapore.
CTX, backed by the US$2 billion Asia Green Fund, said its CNTs will pave the way for carbon credits to be transferred across international borders. This has not been possible due to protracted disagreements among signatories to the Paris Agreement on Article 6 of the landmark pact on climate change.
Article 6 sets out rules for the workings of a global carbon market. Under the Paris Agreement, countries have pledged to meet their "nationally determined contributions (NDCs)" within a timeframe and in a manner they are sovereignly determined. The NDCs comprise emission reduction targets, policies, and measures to mitigate climate change.
The Article 6 dispute has mostly centred on how to avoid the "double counting" of internationally traded carbon offsets, as well as whether to transfer pre-2021 issued credits to the new offset system.
Dr Bai Bo, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of CTX, said: "We are excited with the responses we have been getting from prospective issuers since we unveiled CTX two months ago. They saw the innovation behind our CNT and how it can involve the international community in helping pollutive industries reduce their emissions in a sustainable manner.
"We were able to engender trust at a time when the crypto market was going through uncertainties because CTX is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and built on the robust trading and market surveillance technologies of Nasdaq."
Dr Bai added that CTX's mission is to promote green investing using blockchain and digital twin technologies and it will continue to invest in research and development to that end.
CTX's carbon neutrality token contains shared carbon information including emission records and tracing, carbon offsetting, carbon capture, storage, and reuse. Citing an example in China, Dr Bo said a green infrastructure owner can participate by getting its carbon voluntary emission reduction (VER) verified by a 3rd party NGO agency like Bureau Veritas. It then permanently "freezes" its VER certificates with the country's national carbon registry.
In Singapore where CTX is based, a non-fungible digital "twin" of the asset or VER is created and the information embedded on the carbon neutrality token, which is then traded through the CTX exchange by international investors.
With the carbon information tracked in the tokens, issuers and investors can have visibility of the carbon footprint (or lack thereof) of their production activities and investment portfolios. This will help them to align their fundraising and investing activities with their commitment to promote sustainable business practices.
Dr Bai disclosed that CTX is also in talks with institutions in Europe and North America to issue tokens on its exchange. "Chinese-backed tokens will initially be dominant because of the size of its carbon credits market but our ambition is to develop CTX into a global marketplace for green investing."
CTX was recently licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Recognised Market Operator. It also holds a Capital Market Services License but is exempted from the Payment Services Act.
CTX, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cyberdyne Tech Services, will kick-off trading next month with bitcoin, which it expects will be a popular medium for settlement on its exchange. A direct exchange between bitcoin and fiat currencies is allowed on CTX, with each bitcoin carrying a carbon emission value.
Dr Bai, a Chinese American with a PhD in Physics and Financial Technology Option from MIT, co-founded CTX with Singaporean banker Gabriel Wong and Chinese tech entrepreneur Lily Hong. He is also chairman and founder of Asia Green Fund, one of Asia's first impact private equity funds.
About CTX
Cyberdyne Tech Exchange (CTX) is a digital green exchange licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and leveraging Nasdaq's advanced trading and surveillance technologies. Founded in 2018, CTX provides qualified asset owners and institutional investors with a full-service infrastructure, including primary issuance, secondary trading, settlement, and custody of asset-backed tokens. Singapore-based CTX aims to be a global hub for green financing and will be the first digital exchange to incorporate carbon disclosures for both issuers and investors. Visit www.ctx.sg or contact [email protected] for more information on CTX.
SOURCE CYBERDYNE TECH EXCHANGE PTE. LTD.
Share this article