Melbourne investment firm Victor Smorgon Group (VSG) is pioneering a new digital transaction using the ANZ bank’s stablecoin, A$DC, this time buying carbon credits.
VSG used A$DC to purchase the BCAU carbon tokens from Zerocap, an Australian crypto investment platform, through BetaCarbon, which tokens Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) into digital tokens, each representing 1kg of captured carbon.
This transaction provides A$DC/BCAU liquidity and provides both Victor Smorgon Group and Zerocap repurchase rights for A$DC.
A$DC will remain fully backed by the Australian dollar and redeemable on par with funds held in an ANZ managed reserve account.
The latest transaction follows the groundbreaking first Australian dollar stablecoin (A$DC) payment in a public, permissionless blockchain transaction for Victor Smorgon Group via Zerocap in March this year. For that transaction, ANZ minted 30 million A$DC using its bank-built Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant smart contract implemented through the Fireblocks platform. These coins were transferred between the parties and later exchanged for Fiat currency.
ANZ Banking Services Lead Nigel Dobson said the transaction is an important step for ANZ as the bank explores increased circulation of the stablecoin.
“This landmark transaction brings together two key areas of focus for ANZ, sustainability and digital assets,” he said.
“We are seeing an increasing interest from customers in using A$DC to enter the digital economy, and we will continue to work with our customers to explore how this technology can help them achieve their goals.”
Zerocap CEO Ryan McCall said the transaction continues the company’s ambition to make digital assets mainstream.
BetaCarbon CEO Guy Dickinson said his fintech startup offers the easiest and most competitive entry to the Australian carbon market via blockchain.
“This is at the heart of BetaCarbon’s mission to accelerate the race to net-zero and revolutionize the way we all interact with carbon markets for investors, businesses and consumers,” he said.
