Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) has acquired a strategic stake in Air Carbon Exchange (ACX). The global platform in the voluntary market sector for carbon trading, headquartered in Hub71, the global technology ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.
The conclusion of this transaction comes in support of the launch of (ACX), the first fully regulated exchange for carbon trading, and the establishment of a clearing house for carbon trading in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, according to the Emirati newspaper, Al Khaleej.
ACX is a global environmental commodities exchange that employs “blockchain” technology to create carbon credits for immediate trading by tokenizing virtual assets. In the next stage, it will provide a service for trading carbon credit futures contracts for commodity derivatives.
All digital tokens will be held at the clearing house and settled directly using blockchain smart contracts.
This announcement comes during the first session of Abu Dhabi Financial Week, which is hosted by the Abu Dhabi Global Market from 14 to 18 November, in partnership with the main economic authorities in Abu Dhabi and a group of international and regional financial institutions.
The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Ahmed Jassim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, and Musabeh Al Kaabi, Chief Investment Officer in the UAE at Mubadala.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Mubadala by Badr Salim Sultan Al Olama, Head of Mubadala’s Strategic Complexes Unit, Dhaher Bin Dhaher, Chief Executive Officer of the Abu Dhabi Global Market Registration Authority, and Thomas McMahon, CEO and Co-Founder of ACX.
The Abu Dhabi Global Market is the first judicial authority to regulate carbon credits and offset operations, as they are environmental tools and a category of financial instruments as well. The market also works to license exchanges and clearing houses that manage transactions in spot and derivatives markets.
It is worth noting that ACX has recently obtained approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to operate as a Recognized Investment Exchange (RIE) and Recognized Clearing House (RCH) in the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
