A$DC, the ANZ-issued stablecoin pegged to the Australian dollar, has been successfully used as a medium of exchange to purchase tokenised Australian carbon credits.
The transaction was undertaken by Victor Smorgon Group, which used A$DC to purchase BCAU carbon tokens from Australian crypto asset investment platform Zerocap.
Zerocap sourced the tokens from BetaCarbon, which tokenises Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) into BCAU that each represent 1 kilogram of carbon captured.
According to ANZ, the development marked the latest step of its digital asset strategy as the bank looks to expand the circulation of A$DC.
“This milestone transaction brings together two key focus areas for ANZ, sustainability and digital assets,” commented ANZ banking services lead Nigel Dobson.
“We’re seeing increasing customer appetite to use A$DC to enter the digital economy, and will continue to partner with our clients to explore how this technology can help them achieve their goals.”
Both Zerocap and Victor Smorgon Group were also involved in the first Australian-bank issued Australian-dollar stablecoin payment through a public permissionless blockchain transaction announced by ANZ back in March.
ANZ noted that A$DC remains fully collateralised by the Australian dollar and is redeemable at par with funds held in an ANZ-managed reserve account.
The latest transaction was described as significant as it provided A$DC/BCAU liquidity while offering both Victor Smorgon Group and Zerocap redemption rights for A$DC.
“Zerocap's mission is to bridge the worlds of traditional markets and digital assets. We're thrilled to continue our role at the forefront in taking digital assets mainstream with this transaction,” said Zerocap CEO Ryan McCall.
“With Zerocap providing custody and creating a market for carbon credits with A$DC, we're proving how efficient a digital asset ecosystem can be for trading and settlement of an asset that most people don't even associate with crypto, at least not yet.”
BetaCarbon founder and CEO Guy Dickinson said that the firm offered the easiest and most competitive access to participate in the Australian carbon market via blockchain.
“This is core to BetaCarbon’s mission to accelerate the race to net zero and revolutionise how we all interact with carbon markets for investors, businesses and consumers,” he said.
Additionally, ZeroCap said that the transaction represented a significant milestone in the crypto platform’s “tokenisation of everything” plan spanning carbon credits, bonds, equities, property and beyond.
“Tokened assets combined with blockchain technologies allow frictionless transacting and just as importantly, irrefutable settlement and secure custody,” Mr McCall said.
“This trading platform can play an important role in the necessary development of deep markets for carbon abatement instruments.”
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
