ASX 200 bank ANZ turns to crypto for carbon credit settlement

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is forging ahead with its crypto plans with a novel new transaction.

Back in March, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed bank unveiled A$DC, its own stablecoin that’s pegged to the Australian dollar.

More recently, stablecoins have come under some intense scrutiny, following the collapse of Terra USD and Luna. But unlike Terra’s stablecoin, ANZ’s crypto is 100% backed by Australian dollars.

Saying it wasn’t at risk of coming de-pegged from the Aussie dollar, ANZ’s banking services portfolio lead Nigel Dobson labelled A$DC a “tokenised deposit”.

ANZ crypto used to buy Australian carbon credits

The Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in question were tokenised by BetaCarbon, which created digital security tokens known as BCAUs.

As the Australian Financial Review reports, investment company Victor Smorgon Group used A$DC to purchase ACCUs.

By making the transaction with crypto on the Ethereum blockchain, Victor Smorgon was able to secure its carbon credit purchase without going through traditional intermediaries. These can add complexity and slow down settlement times.

Commenting on A$DC, Dobson said:

ANZ is pursuing the transition of financial market infrastructure. We see this is evolving from being internet-protocol based to one of tokenised protocols. We think the underlying infrastructure – efficient, secure, public blockchains – will facilitate transactions, both ones we understand today and new ones, that will be more efficient.

Dobson also touted the Ethereum blockchain over other, potentially riskier, options:

Standards are absolutely fundamental to interoperability, and they will soon allow organisations to transfer assets off expensive, and arguably unsustainable, blockchains, to ones with lower cost, faster throughput and sustainability credentials.

How has the ASX 200 bank been tracking?

Stablecoin rollouts aside, the ANZ share price has struggled in 2022, down around 18%. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 12% posted by the ASX 200.

The post ASX 200 bank ANZ turns to crypto for carbon credit settlement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#43B02A”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• CBA share price leads the big four as banks outperform ASX 200 on Monday
• Why ANZ, Block, Bubs, and PayGroup shares are pushing higher
• Should you ‘buy the dip’ in ASX 200 bank shares?
• ASX 200 midday update: Pilbara Minerals’ lithium price update, BHP tumbles
• ANZ share price rises as MYOB acquisition rumours swirl

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/lOVHCqy