Origin Assets launches ambitious climate finance platform in Abu Dhabi leveraging blockchain

Three firms, with a combined pipeline worth over $140 billion, have teamed up to bring together their climate, payment, and market infrastructure into a new venture based in Abu Dhabi. The goal? To make financing and trading climate-aligned assets a lot easier , or at least that’s the plan.

This project is called Origin Assets. It was announced during Climate Week London on 24 June , a joint effort by Reef Origin, Xange.com, and NOXXO. The idea is to use stablecoin-backed tools to fund a wide range of projects, including data centres, rare earth mining, real estate, clean energy, and infrastructure for food and water. They’re aiming this at institutional investors who want exposure to climate-related opportunities but also want the benefits of blockchain settlement and easier liquidity.

Now, why now? Well, the tokenisation of real-world assets has really been picking up speed over the last 18 months , especially in traditional markets like Treasury bills, bonds, and property funds. But what Origin Assets is doing is trying to take that model into the climate finance space. According to the OECD, this market needs to grow rapidly if the world is serious about meeting its Paris Agreement goals.

Reef Origin brings the biggest existing project pipeline to the table. They claim over $40 billion worth of qualifying assets with a history spanning 25 years. Xange.com complements this by bringing environmental market infrastructure and an even larger pipeline , they say they have over $100 billion in forest-based carbon credits aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. NOXXO offers payment technology designed to connect banks and institutions into regulated cross-border settlement systems, with stablecoin integration as well.

The companies say the business model is pretty straightforward. Origin Assets will issue stablecoins pegged to the US dollar to help fund projects across different sectors. These assets will then be tokenised , that is, turned into digital tokens , which allows for fractional ownership and lending at various stages of a project’s lifecycle, from early concept to full operation.

This structure is apparently tailored for large asset managers, family offices, corporations, and financial institutions interested in climate exposure but also wanting more flexibility when it comes to ownership and transfer. Sure, there are already green bonds and climate funds that offer ways to invest in the transition, without the added complication of digital infrastructure. But, interestingly enough, Origin Assets seems to be betting that these institutions will still be drawn in by faster speeds, more transparency, and maybe even better liquidity.

It’s also not just about creating on-chain asset baskets. Each investment is supposed to be measured against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and linked to Xange.com’s pipeline of carbon credits. Plus, the whole setup is being designed to enable compliance with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement , the part that governs international carbon trading and the transfer of mitigation outcomes between countries.

However, it’s worth noting that this market is still pretty much in its infancy. The first transactions under Article 6 only happened in 2024. And many of the rules surrounding methodology, verification, and cross-border accounting are still evolving. So, Origin Assets is aiming ahead of a market that hasn’t fully matured yet.

The model is built on three technical layers. First is digital MRV, or monitoring, reporting and verification , a system intended to keep tabs on environmental performance from the early design phases through construction and operation. Then there’s UEMIS , short for Unified Environmental Market Infrastructure Solutions , which Xange.com describes as a policy-oriented framework for enabling sovereign environmental market participation, covering registries, custody, and settlement. Finally, IMDC , Immutable Metadata Digital Certificates , are meant to create standardised on-chain records for each mitigation outcome issued through the system.

Piers Slater, one of the co-founders of Origin Assets, said that Reef Origin’s pipeline showed there was significant appetite for asset-backed investments, especially in sectors like data centres and rare earths. “Origin Assets offers the kind of returns, liquidity, compliance, and transparency institutional investors look for, built on the combined strength of three experienced teams,” he explained.

Choosing Abu Dhabi as the base isn’t just a coincidence either. The emirate has been actively working on strengthening its position in the digital asset and fintech space. Over the past couple of years, the Abu Dhabi Global Market has granted licences to a growing number of crypto firms. For a venture that involves tokenisation, stablecoins, and international payments, that regulatory environment is, well, pretty handy.

The financial centre of Abu Dhabi has also been growing fast. According to the emirate’s media office, assets under management in the Abu Dhabi Global Market increased by 211% from Q1 2023, highlighting its rising appeal for global institutions. That kind of momentum is partly why more digital asset projects seem eager to make Abu Dhabi their home base.

That said, there’s no guarantee of smooth sailing ahead. Origin Assets has yet to publicly detail any initial deployments , translating a pipeline of ideas into actual, funded projects will hinge on whether institutional investors embrace the structure. Especially when it comes to the carbon market, the risks are clear: verification standards, regulatory compliance, and cross-border policy are still in flux.

And then there’s the broader question of whether blockchain really adds enough value to justify all the operational complexities. Tokenised assets are growing in popularity but combining climate finance, stablecoins, and international carbon trading all into one package remains somewhat untested , still early days.

Right now, what Origin Assets appears to be trying is to connect three separate channels: environmental markets, real-world asset tokenisation, and regulated payments infrastructure. If it works, it could offer a new, more transparent way to finance climate projects with quicker access to capital. If it doesn’t, well, it will likely join the long list of ambitious ventures that discovered enthusiasm for climate tech and digital assets doesn’t always translate into tangible investments.