On-chain registry
A distributed ledger that records issuance, transfer and retirement of carbon units with public verifiability.
An on-chain registry records the lifecycle of each carbon unit — issuance, ownership changes, retirement — in a ledger that multiple parties can read and that cannot be silently rewritten.
The benefit is auditability. Serial numbers, timestamps and retirement status become independently checkable, and the history of a specific tonne is traceable without requesting records from an intermediary. That reduces the reconciliation burden that plagues fragmented voluntary markets.
The limits are equally important. A ledger is only as truthful as its inputs, so identity verification, duplicate prevention against existing registries and legal recognition of on-chain transfers remain the hard problems. Immutability also means errors are permanent, which places a premium on getting issuance right the first time.
Frequently asked questions
Does an on-chain record replace a national registry?
No. Where compliance accounting applies, the sovereign registry remains authoritative and the ledger must reconcile with it.
Can anyone audit an on-chain registry?
Yes, which is the point. Public verifiability is the core advantage over closed databases.