CTX links directly to the registries where credits are issued and held. Those links let a trade settle the same day, and let you trace any credit by its serial number from issuance to retirement.
Many standards run their own registry, so the two names often travel together. A credit depends on both: the standard tells you how the tonne was counted, and the registry shows who holds it and whether it has been used.
A standard, or crediting programme, sets which projects qualify and how their reductions or removals are measured. Independent bodies check a project against those rules before any credits are issued.
A registry is the ledger. It issues each verified tonne as a credit with its own serial number, records which account holds it, and logs every transfer and retirement.
Credits listed on CTX come from projects certified under recognised programmes. These are the ones behind the market today.
The Kyoto Protocol's crediting mechanism, which issues Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). CTX was the first commercial partner to the UN's CDM Registry, and in 2017 signed the first commercial interface with it. As the CDM winds down, CTX offers holders a route for their CERs.
A standard that certifies projects on their emission reductions and on their wider contribution to sustainable development. Gold Standard credits trade on CTX with same-day settlement.
A registry that issues, manages and protects carbon credits. GCR and CTX connect in real time: GCR issues and safeguards the credits, CTX lists and trades them. More about GCR.
An independent standard whose certified credits are listed on CTX. Corporate One members pay no transfer or retirement fee on BioCarbon credits.
UCR works as both a standard and a registry. Its credits trade on CTX, and Corporate One members pay no transfer or retirement fee on them.
Verra runs the Verified Carbon Standard, one of the largest programmes in the voluntary market. Verra VCS credits are available through CTX; ask our trading desk how a particular purchase is handled.
In many off-exchange deals, payment and delivery happen separately, sometimes days apart, and one side carries the risk that the other won't follow through. Direct registry links close that gap.
Once a project meets its standard's rules, the registry issues its credits, each with a unique serial number.
The holder lists the credits on CTX at their own price, and buyers see the listing live.
A buyer with a funded account buys at the listed price. The cash is already in place when the trade is made.
Through the registry link, the credits move to the buyer's registry account and the proceeds to the seller on the same day, with delivery and payment both guaranteed.
Every credit a registry issues carries a unique serial number. It ties the credit to the project, programme and vintage it came from, and to the account that holds it today.
When a credit is retired, the registry records it permanently. It can't be sold or used again, and anyone checking the record can see it has been claimed.
On CTX, credits reach your registry account the same day, ready to retire or resell. On the Global Carbon Registry, for example, ownership moves when the trade completes and the buyer's retirement is recorded for good. Trade data and reports can be exported for your own records and audits.
How we protect integrity →A registry for transfers between countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, launched at COP25 in 2019 and linked to CTX. It also gives holders of CDM credits a route forward as the mechanism closes.
About the ITMO RegistryWhat to check before you buy, and how CTX keeps every trade traceable.
Read moreNo. A registry records who holds each credit. An exchange is where buyers and sellers meet and agree a price. CTX is an exchange that connects directly to registries, so a trade agreed on CTX is reflected in the registry the same day.
UNFCCC CDM, Gold Standard, Global Carbon Registry, BioCarbon Standard and Universal Carbon Registry. Verra VCS credits are also available through CTX. The live listings show the standard behind each credit.
To your registry account, on the same day. From there you can retire them or hold them to sell on. Corporate One members can also buy to transfer or buy to retire without holding their own registry accounts.
That a specific credit, identified by its serial number, has been permanently taken out of circulation and can't be sold or claimed again. It is the evidence behind any offsetting claim you make.
Get started
Open an account to buy or list credits, or talk to our team about a particular registry or standard.