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- William Evans, former director of Crypto Exchange Kraken, left the company to lead a fintech startup
- Veridium Labs aims to shake the carbon credit market with the blockchain
"The blockchain could radically transform this market".
William Evans, who recently left Kraken as a cryptocurrency to lead the fintech startup, Veridium Labs, is not talking about the bond market, the foreign exchange market, or even the stock market. He is talking about the carbon credit market, a financial product that his company wants to bring to the next level.
Carbon credits are a financial contribution to a project that aims to reduce carbon emissions. For example, a person or business, an airline or an oil company can get carbon credits after contributing, say, to a greenhouse project, to offset their carbon footprint. These entities could also purchase carbon credits from the market. These credits, in a sense, are a type of asset and are regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
"But the market is quite illiquid," said Evans, which means that it is difficult for investors to enter or exit a position. "Our vision is to develop a market for these projects to be invested in and for trading and the issue of receivables occur."
To this end, Evans said the company plans to reduce carbon credits. Evans said the demand for carbon credits is set to increase in the coming years as companies are under pressure from customers and investors to make a contribution to the environment.
Evans worked in Kraken for seven months. The Chicago exchange veteran has a long and legendary career in financial services. Before seizing the cryptocesto and joining Kraken, Evans was an executive director of the CME Group trade giant. He supervised the enterprise of companies, which made investments in the initial phase of investment in financial technology companies.
He joined the Veridium Labs in December. "I talked to them for a while and I helped them dig through things."
"The pressure is increasing because companies are demonstrating their dedication to the ESG," he said.
In recent years, investors have become increasingly interested in the impact of their investments, not just alpha or large returns. This has put pressure on fund managers to find sustainable investment options.
"Investors' appetite for environmental solutions has increased significantly in recent years, with $ 21.4 trillion in global assets incorporating socially responsible investment and up to 93% of US millennials showing a high preference for impact investments, "said Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a 2017 report.
This has fueled the growth of green bonds, carbon credits and so-called impact funds. Investors are taking environmental issues more seriously, with UBS now including environmental scores to drive its investments. He also pressured companies to prove they are green.
That pressure could be an advantage for both carbon credits and Veridium.
The studio collaborated with IBM to help transform their dreams into reality. As reported by Computerworld, companies are in discussions with regulators to determine how their platform should be regulated.
"That tool's regulatory treatment will then inform who and as individuals and / or corporations are eligible to buy it," said Jared Klee, IBM's blockchain offer manager.
