The "carbon assets" sold out in ten minutes: Is the country's first carbon credit digital asset a breakthrough or a bubble?

According to a report by Sina Finance on January 20, Greenland Financial Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. officially launched the country’s first digital asset linked to carbon credits. The portion available to the public sold out in just ten minutes after opening. This speed has caused a ripple in the intersection of green finance and digital assets.

This issuance is regarded by industry insiders as a key experiment of “RWA (Real World Assets) + consumption scenarios”: it disassembles the originally high-threshold professional carbon credits into digital rights worth 88 yuan each, and binds hotel consumption discounts to the public market. The market’s enthusiasm for “ten minutes” votes affirms the potential of this model to reach ordinary consumers.

However, cheers and doubts often go hand in hand. Can the scarcity of 500 limited units support large-scale expansion? In the complex design of “carbon assets + consumption vouchers,” which side truly drives user purchases? In the context of an immature compliance circulation mechanism, can this ten-minute “hotness” be transformed into long-term sustainable “temperature”?

We attempt to look beyond the surface of “sold out,” analyzing this highly anticipated debut from three perspectives: product design, market logic, and potential risks. It may not be a perfect answer, but it undoubtedly raises a critical question: When professional assets try to go mainstream, besides “low price” and “subsidies,” what is the truly sustainable path?

1. The confidence behind the ten-minute sell-out: visible underlying carbon assets

The vitality of any financial or quasi-financial product first depends on the authenticity and value certainty of its underlying assets. The reason Greenland Financial Innovation’s digital asset issuance attracted market attention is that it is strictly anchored to an authoritative verified physical environmental right.

According to the issuance information, the underlying asset corresponds to one of the first batch of hotel building carbon credits in China—the energy-saving renovation project of Xuzhou Greenland Boli Hotel, which achieved greenhouse gas emission reductions. Specifically, the project implemented comprehensive technical measures such as heat water system frequency conversion upgrades, full LED lighting replacement, and elevator energy feedback devices, significantly improving energy efficiency. Through standardized monitoring and verification procedures, the project has obtained an approved reduction of 1,301 tons of CO2 equivalent. This means each ton of reduction corresponds to real, measurable, reportable energy savings and environmental benefits.

This is not a virtual concept or a promise of future gains, but a typical “Real World Asset” (RWA). In green finance, such verified emission reductions are a standardized environmental rights asset, tradable in specific carbon markets to offset corporate or individual emissions, fulfilling social responsibility or compliance requirements. According to the issuance details, each digital asset issued corresponds to 1 ton of such carbon credit. Therefore, the holder essentially possesses a digital claim recorded via blockchain or digital certificate technology to this physical carbon asset right. This design transforms the originally professional, institutional-level carbon asset transactions into smaller, more flexible units, opening the first door for public participation.

**2. Decoding the three-layered design behind the rush purchase: **Tradeable, Exchangeable, Consumable

If a solid underlying asset is the foundation of this “building,” then a clever product model design is the internal structure and decoration that make it “alive” and attract crowds. Greenland Financial Innovation’s product is not just simple “carbon asset digitization,” but constructs a “carbon credit rights + digital financial attributes + consumption scenario incentives” integrated structure, attempting to meet different user needs from multiple dimensions and weave a perceivable value closed loop.

First is the financial and circulation attribute, the core step of “RWA-ization.” The digital asset is issued at a unit price of 88 yuan per share, limited to 500 units. This price and low-threshold design fundamentally lower the barrier to participating in carbon asset investment. More importantly, according to official information, the asset can be traded on the “GuoWen Digital Assets” trading platform under Jiangsu Province Cultural Property Rights Exchange. Although initial liquidity is unknown, this arrangement provides a clear secondary market circulation expectation, giving it typical financial asset features—tradeability. This motivates purchase beyond simple environmental support or consumption, adding asset appreciation or liquidity realization considerations, attracting investors interested in emerging assets.

Second, and most critically, is the redeemability of green rights. According to the issuance rules, users who purchase 10 units of this digital asset can exchange for carbon credits at the Guizhou Green Finance Low-Carbon Trading Center. This step is crucial—it completes the leap from “digital symbol” to “substantive environmental rights.” The Guizhou Green Finance Low-Carbon Trading Center, approved by local government, is an environmental rights trading venue. The exchanged carbon credits can be used for corporate or personal carbon neutrality goals, secondary trading, or as proof of environmental contribution. This ensures that the “green core” of the product is not just an empty slogan but has practical application scenarios and market value, answering the core question of “what do I get after buying,” enabling the green value to form a complete loop rather than remaining at the conceptual level.

The third layer involves clever consumption incentives and ecosystem binding. Besides the core rights of carbon credits, all successful subscribers will receive a Greenland G-Care VIP membership card, enjoying benefits such as 15% hotel discounts, points acceleration, and a 70-yuan accommodation voucher. As explained by Greenland Financial Innovation staff, this is empowering the asset through “cultural and creative IP.” The brilliance of this design lies in precisely capturing another user profile: price-sensitive consumers who value quality of life. For them, carbon credits may be unfamiliar, but hotel discounts and coupons are immediate, tangible benefits. Essentially, this is using consumption rights to subsidize or “package” green investments, significantly lowering the decision threshold for the public, transforming what might be a serious environmental support action into a “smart consumption” or “super-value experience” with immediate returns. It also channels traffic to Greenland’s hotel business, achieving cross-industry user conversion and exploring a “green finance supporting physical consumption” business model.

These three layers are not simply parallel but mutually reinforcing: financial attributes attract investors, green rights realization establishes core value, and consumption incentives expand the user base and increase stickiness. Together, they turn a professional asset into a “breakout” product, which may be the key business model behind the “ten-minute sell-out” phenomenon.

3. After the blockbuster: can the model be replicated?

Greenland Financial Innovation’s attempt is like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that offer multiple insights for the entire RWA and green finance digitization field, while also clearly revealing the challenges and uncertainties ahead.

From the positive “light” side, this practice provides several valuable ideas. First, it explores a “RWA+” path to break the circle. For highly professional assets like carbon credits, infrastructure revenue rights, or bills, direct promotion to the public is very difficult. The “RWA+ consumption rights” or “RWA+ cultural empowerment” model offers a feasible “sugar coating” or “bridge” to reach a broader C-end user. It suggests that the popularization of RWA does not necessarily require users to fully understand the underlying financial logic; it can be achieved by attaching familiar and valued immediate benefits. Second, it demonstrates a cautious compliance exploration framework. The product does not operate entirely on an unregulated, purely blockchain environment but cooperates with local carbon emission rights trading venues (Guizhou Green Finance) and cultural property rights exchanges (Jiangsu Cultural Property Rights Exchange “GuoWen Digital Assets”). The former ensures compliance and credibility of carbon asset exchange, while the latter provides an official background infrastructure for digital certificate circulation. This “dual-platform” cooperation offers a transitional reference for innovation within existing regulatory frameworks. Third, it reshapes corporate ESG narratives. Green investments like energy-saving renovations are usually seen as costs or branding efforts. This model directly transforms ESG practices into marketable digital products, opening a new path for converting green investments into revenue or financing channels, shifting ESG from “costs” to “value creation,” and stimulating corporate innovation.

However, behind the halo, the “shadow” part also requires calm assessment, concerning the sustainability and replicability of the model. The primary challenge lies in market depth and sustained supply. The initial scarcity of 500 units is key to creating “秒光” (sold out instantly) phenomena and stimulating purchase psychology. Once normalized and mass-produced, can market demand continuously absorb supply? Will the subsidy cost of consumption rights become unsustainable? Long-term market data is needed for verification. Second, the intertwined risks of dual volatility. The product’s value is affected by two factors: the price fluctuations of the underlying carbon credits in the carbon market, and the trading liquidity and price fluctuations of its digital certificates on platforms like “GuoWen Digital Assets.” The superimposition of these volatilities makes the final value uncertain. Whether current promotional materials sufficiently warn of these risks and whether investor education is adequate are important indicators of its robustness. Lastly, the sustainability of the core mode itself is questionable. The current product’s huge appeal largely depends on Greenland’s brand and consumption rights subsidies. If these hotel discounts are removed or significantly reduced, how attractive will the product remain to ordinary consumers? This prompts us to consider whether the core competitiveness lies in the carbon asset itself or in “discount coupons.” If the latter, it may be closer to an innovative marketing tool rather than a pure financial product innovation, and its long-term viability remains to be tested.

Conclusion: a valuable experiment in “value packaging”

In summary, Greenland Financial Innovation’s first issuance of carbon credit digital assets and their rapid sell-out go far beyond the success of a single product. It is essentially a valuable experiment on how to digitize, fragment, and “package” professional, abstract “Real World Assets” with instant value that ordinary people can understand and desire, successfully delivering them into common hands.

The success factors are clear: a real, compliant underlying asset as the value foundation; a digital shell allowing small investments and circulation expectations; a key channel linking to authoritative trading markets for final value realization; and a series of instant consumer incentives that bridge the gap with consumers. It proves that with careful design, RWA can become approachable, interesting, and even “profitable,” breaking through niche circles.

However, the experiment has only just begun. The questions it raises and the paths it demonstrates are equally important: how to sustain value when subsidies decline? how to handle market scale-up? how to defend against imitators? and how to better disclose complex risks to participants?

This case provides a vivid reference for the industry. It hints that in the future, we may see more “RWA+” products such as “new energy vehicle charging pile revenue rights + charging discounts,” “cultural and sports venue future ticket income + performance privileges,” or “renewable energy green certificates + electricity discounts.” These will blur the boundaries between investment and consumption, integrating finance more deeply into specific production and life scenarios. Ultimately, the measure of success for such innovations will not only be the “minutes to sell out” at launch but whether they can build a sustainable, transparent, and mutually beneficial ecosystem that creates real value for all parties (asset owners, platforms, consumers) beyond initial hype. For the RWA track, the road to the mainstream market may well be paved by such carefully “value-packaged” offerings. How to deliver these packages safely and sustainably will be a long-term challenge for all practitioners.

Source references for some materials:

· “China’s first digital asset linked to carbon credits officially launched”

· “Greenland Financial Innovation’s carbon credit mechanism selected as an important case in the UN Global Compact, affirming Greenland’s ESG achievements”

Author: Liang Yu Editor: Zhao Yidan