Scotland-based crypto wallet and payments platform Zumo has launched a decarbonising digital assets solution for financial institutions.
Named Oxygen, the solution is aimed at financial institutions that prioritise ESG, and it was launched in Amsterdam during the Money 20/20 Europe event. The system was created by Zumo in partnership with a renewable-energy-as-a-service company named Zero Labs, which specialises in programmable decarbonisation technologies. In 2022, the two companies received a grant from the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK, to support their research efforts into the decarbonisation of digital assets.
That research has now materialised into a solution that allows Zumo’s clients, including banks and asset managers, to provide ESG-aligned, future-proofed digital asset offerings to their customers. The system uses standard industry data combined with forecasted and calculated crypto energy consumption to make sure that crypto or blockchain activities are transparently and verifiably powered by renewables. Renewable energy is secured in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
In essence, the Oxygen solution allows Zumo’s clients to minimise the electricity-based Scope 3 emissions associated with their digital asset offerings. In the company press release, Zumo representatives offered some more insight into the Oxygen project and highlighted its ability to help banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions to align their digital asset offering with their wider net zero strategies and make decarbonisation claims that are verifiable.
Oxygen was designed to offer practical ways to meet customer demand for digital assets while reducing environmental challenges and demonstrating positive, ESG-aligned action.
In 2022, Zumo launched its Zero Hero pilot project, which tested the ability of users to buy RECs to compensate for the electricity usage of Bitcoin bought via a direct-to-consumer crypto app, which is powered by Zumo’s infrastructure.
According to ffnews.com, despite ongoing progress in the energy mix of Bitcoin mining operations, the Bitcoin network is still one of the most energy and carbon-intensive digital currencies. The Zero Hero project aimed to showcase proactive platform-side action, allowing crypto enthusiasts to make greener choices for their crypto finances and decarbonise Bitcoin holdings.
The Zero Hero project was finalised in June 2022, with GBP 1.5 million worth of Bitcoin covered by Zero Hero REC purchases. This translates to a total of 850 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity compensated via the programme. Zumo also purchased 126.36 MWh in an effort to decarbonise Ethereum’s historical emissions by taking part in the Blocks.garden initiative.
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