In a creative move for sustainable finance and climate mitigation efforts, China Carbon Neutral Development Group ( CCNG ), a Hong Kong-listed investment holding company, has announced the issuance of 500 million Carbon Coins, the world’s first compliance-based carbon tokens backed by internationally verified carbon credits.

Issued through Singapore’s licensed digital asset platform DigiFT, the launch could establish a new model for global carbon market infrastructure.

The Carbon Coins are underpinned by 500,000 tonnes of Verified Carbon Standard ( VCS ) credits certified by Verra, which remains the most widely adopted voluntary carbon standard globally.

These assets provide a high-integrity foundation for CCNG’s tokenization initiative, making the credits traceable, transferable and tradeable on a fully regulated blockchain platform.

Headquartered in Hong Kong and incorporated in the Cayman Islands, CCNG is a diversified firm with roots in civil engineering and construction. However, in recent years, it has strategically pivoted to become a player in Asia’s emerging carbon economy.

Its business now spans carbon neutrality planning, consulting and negative emissions technologies, such as carbon capture, utilization and storage, as well as the development and management of forest carbon sinks and carbon credit assets.

This Carbon Coin issuance, managed by its wholly owned subsidiary Global Carbon Asset Management, marks an innovation in addressing some of the long-standing issues that plague traditional carbon markets, namely, high costs, fragmented systems and limited investor access.

The dual-chain architecture, combining CCNG’s Green Trust Alliance Chain with public blockchain infrastructure, provides both market efficiency and regulatory oversight. It reduces trading cycles from weeks to minutes and unlocks around-the-clock trading for qualified investors.

By enabling fractionalized, digitized and compliant trading of VCS-certified carbon credits, CCNG, it states, offers a transformative financial instrument that bridges green finance and the digital economy, while lowering the entry barriers for enterprises and investors alike.

Looking forward, the company, it points out, plans to extend the application of Carbon Coins across green supply chains, circular economy projects and new energy markets.

For regulators, corporates and capital providers, this initiative not only sets a technical precedent, it represents a structural blueprint for a more transparent, efficient and scalable global carbon market.