28.03.2024

Australia’s Biggest Bank Says Its ‘BioTokens’ Can Help the Environment

The bank announced in a press release published on its website on Aug. 21 that it is working on “BioTokens”, enabling sustainable investments co-developed with BioDiversity Solutions Australia. 

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is currently prototyping blockchain tokens meant to enable landowners, environmental groups, developers and governments to invest in sustainable development.

Per the report, the project is part of broader developments meant to support regional businesses across Australia and enables the creation of crypto assets representing biodiversity credits for New South Wales Government’s Biodiversity Offsets Scheme.

Commonwealth Bank’s ‘BioTokens’

The government project in question – introduced in 2017 – requires companies to find and purchase biodiversity credits to offset development impacts. Such credits can be generated by landholders establishing stewardship sites to protect biodiversity on their land.

The tokens will reportedly be also accompanied by a dedicated on-chain digital marketplace. BioDiversity Solutions Australia managing director, Rod Barnaby, commented:

“Developing a digital marketplace is part of a broader project we have been working on to help stakeholders participate in the NSW Biodiversity Offset Scheme. Our vision was to help facilitate the protection of precious environmental ecosystems, while also creating an alternative source of income for landowners and rewarding them for preserving biodiversity on their land.”

BioTokens can be programmed, regulatory compliance automated

Sophie Gilder, the bank’s head of experimentation commercialisation for blockchain, AI and emerging technology, claims that the project creates an accessible and transparent marketplace enabling the trading of tokens representing biodiversity assets.

She also addressed the system’s compliance in another quote included in the press release:

“The BioTokens can be programmed with complex scheme rules so that compliance and administration is automated, market activity is transparent and real time, and marketplace participants have a simpler, streamlined experience.”

As Cointelegraph reported at the end of June, United States-based clean energy development firm Clearway Energy Group is launching a pilot program for trading renewable energy credits on a blockchain.

Bithumb Exchange to Launch Cryptocurrency Listing Committee

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb will launch a new committee in September that will determine which cryptocurrencies can be traded on its platform.

A monthly check by experts

South Korean news daily Yonhap News reported the formation of Bithumb’s new committee on Aug. 22. The committee, entitled the Listing Eligibility Deliberation Committee, will review the exchange’s listings once a month, per the report.

The committee will reportedly take into consideration daily trading volume, change in base market capitalization and project support among other factors. Cryptocurrencies that fail to meet the committee’s standards will have two months to improve their status before being delisted.

According to the report, Bithumb’s committee will also consist of lawyers and professors, in an effort to bring legal, technical and fintech experts on board to review the exchange’s listing process. A spokesperson for the exchange remarked:

«We will strengthen the check on technology development efforts and utility of cryptocurrency projects. We will take the lead in protecting investors by creating a transparent and safe trading environment.»

Singapore exchange changes name to Bithumb Singapore

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Singapore-based crypto exchange formerly known as Bitholic has changed its name to Bithumb Singapore. At press time, attempting to navigate to https://www.bitholic.com will redirect to the URL www.bithumbsg.com. The website also now contains a notice about the exchange’s name change, which explains:

“BITHOLIC is planning to provide its service under the name of Bithumb Singapore through the brand licensing agreement with Bithumb (South Korea’s largest crypto exchange).”

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