Press release
Northern Trust Joins Project Ensemble to Test the Tokenization of Carbon Credits in a Cross-Border Setting
Under the experimental setting of the HKMA’s Project Ensemble, investors will have access to tokenized voluntary carbon credits traded in Hong Kong via The
About this update from Northern Trust Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"\nUnder the experimental setting of the HKMA’s Project Ensemble, investors will have access to tokenized voluntary carbon credits traded in Hong Kong via The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem™\n\n HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nNorthern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) today announced it has joined Project Ensemble, a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) initiative, to help develop an experimental framework for cross-border trading of digital carbon credits.\n\nThe collaboration aims to explore how overseas investors can seamlessly access tokenized voluntary carbon credits traded in Hong Kong. The project will be supported by The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem™, a fully digital platform for the end-to-end lifecycle management of digital carbon credits which utilizes private ledger digital blockchain technology. The initiative will leverage The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem’s seamless settlement experience by recording, transferring and settling digital carbon credits as instructed in its role as designated custodian.\n\nProject Ensemble, launched in 2024, is the HKMA’s initiative aimed at supporting and shaping the development of the tokenization ecosystem in Hong Kong. Central to this initiative is the Ensemble Sandbox, which is now facilitating the testing of tokenization use cases across different areas, including green and sustainable finance. In the Ensemble Sandbox, Northern Trust, along with other industry pioneers, will test a framework for the cross-border trade of tokenized carbon credits.\n\nNorthern Trust announced the formal launch of The Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem in September 2024. The ecosystem connects institutional buyers with project developers focused on climate solutions to avoid, reduce, or remove greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Buyers can purchase digital carbon credits directly from project developers and retire these against their emissions footprint.\n\nThe Northern Trust Carbon Ecosystem can support a variety of verified carbon credits, including those from removal and avoidance, providing a unified and fully transparent ledger.\n\nJustin Chapman, Group Head of Strategic Partnerships, Digital Assets and Financial Markets at Northern Trust, said: “Our participation in Project Ensemble represents a significant step in bridging digital asset innovation with sustainable finance on a global scale. By collaborat...