According to a Sina Finance report on January 20, Greenland Financial Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. officially launched China's first digital asset linked to carbon credits that day, with the portion offered to the public selling out completely within just ten minutes of opening. This speed has caused a stir in the field of green finance and digital assets.

This issuance is seen by the industry as a key experiment in "RWA (Real-World Asset) + Consumption Scenarios": it breaks down carbon credits, which originally had a high professional threshold, into digital rights worth 88 yuan per share, and bundles them with hotel consumption discounts to push them to the public market. The market's enthusiasm within "ten minutes" voted in approval of the imagination of this model in reaching ordinary consumers.

However, cheers and skepticism often come together. Can the scarcity of 500 units support large-scale expansion? In the combined design of "carbon assets + consumption vouchers," which aspect truly motivates users to buy? Given the incomplete maturity of the compliant circulation mechanism, can this fleeting "heat" be transformed into long-term sustainable "warmth"?

We attempt to see beyond the surface of "sold out" and dissect this highly anticipated launch from three dimensions: product design, market logic, and potential risks. It may not be a perfect answer, but it undoubtedly raises a key question: when professional assets try to reach the public, what is the truly sustainable path besides "low price" and "subsidies"?

I. The confidence behind selling out in ten minutes: Visible underlying carbon assets

The vitality of any financial or quasi-financial product stems first and foremost from the authenticity and certainty of the value of its underlying assets. The reason why Greenland Financial Innovation's digital assets have attracted market attention is that they are strictly anchored to a real environmental right that has been verified by an authoritative body.

According to the product's issuance information, its underlying asset is the greenhouse gas emission reduction achieved by the energy-saving renovation project of the Xuzhou Greenland Platinum Hotel, one of the first batch of hotel building carbon credit projects in China. Specifically, the project significantly improved the hotel's energy efficiency through a series of comprehensive technical measures, including implementing frequency conversion upgrades to the hot water system, replacing all lighting with LED, and installing energy feedback devices in elevators. Following a standardized monitoring and verification process, the project has obtained approved emission reductions totaling 1,301 tons of CO2 equivalent. This means that every ton of emission reduction corresponds to real, measurable, and reportable energy savings and environmental benefits.

This is not a virtual concept or a promise of future returns, but a typical "real-world asset" (RWA). In the field of green finance, such certified emission reductions are themselves a standardized environmental rights asset that can be traded in specific carbon markets to offset corporate or individual carbon emissions, thereby fulfilling social responsibility or compliance requirements. According to the issuance prospectus, each digital asset issued corresponds to one ton of such carbon credits. Therefore, what the purchaser essentially holds is a digital claim to these physical carbon assets, recorded using blockchain or digital certificate technology. This design breaks down the relatively professional carbon asset trading that was originally concentrated among corporate or institutional investors into smaller, more flexible units, opening the first door for public participation.

II. Deciphering the Triple Design Behind the Flash Sale: Tradeable, Exchangeable, and Consumable

If solid underlying assets are the foundation of this building, then ingenious product design is the internal structure and decoration that brings it to life and attracts people. Greenland Financial Innovation's product this time is not simply "digitalization of carbon assets." It constructs a three-in-one composite structure of "carbon credit rights + digital financial attributes + consumption scenario incentives," attempting to meet the needs of different users from multiple dimensions, thereby weaving a perceptible value loop.

First, it incorporates financial and circulation attributes, the core step of "RWA-ification." This digital asset is issued at a unit price of 88 yuan, with a total supply limited to 500 units. This price and low-threshold design essentially lowers the barrier to entry for carbon asset investment. More importantly, according to official information, this asset will be traded on the "Guowen Shuzi" trading platform under the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Property Exchange. Although initial liquidity is unknown, this arrangement gives it a clear expectation of secondary market circulation, giving it the typical characteristics of a financial asset—tradability. This makes the purchase motivation go beyond simple environmental support or consumption, incorporating investment considerations of asset appreciation or liquidity, attracting some investors interested in emerging assets.

Secondly, and most crucially, is the redemption of green rights. According to the issuance rules, for every 10 units of this digital asset purchased, users can redeem carbon credits at the Guizhou Green Gold and Low Carbon Trading Center. This step is critical, completing the leap from "digital symbols" to "substantive environmental rights." The Guizhou Green Gold and Low Carbon Trading Center is an environmental rights trading venue established with the approval of the local government. Carbon credits redeemed here can be used for organizations or individuals to achieve carbon neutrality goals, participate in secondary trading, or serve as proof of environmental contributions. This ensures that the product's "green core" is not just an empty slogan, but an asset with practical applications and compliant market value. It answers the core question, "What's the use of buying it?", allowing green value to ultimately close the loop, rather than remaining merely a concept.

The third layer of design cleverly integrates consumer incentives with the ecosystem. In addition to the core benefit of carbon credits, all successful subscribers will receive a Greenland G-Care Gold Membership, enjoying exclusive consumer benefits including a 15% discount on hotel stays, accelerated points accumulation, and a 70 RMB hotel voucher. As explained by Greenland Financial Innovation staff, this empowers the asset through "cultural and creative IP." The brilliance of this design lies in its precise targeting of another user group: price-sensitive consumers who value quality of life. For them, carbon credit assets may be somewhat unfamiliar, but hotel discounts and vouchers offer immediate and tangible benefits. Essentially, this subsidizes or "packages" green investment with consumer benefits, significantly lowering the decision-making threshold for the public and transforming a potentially serious environmental support action into a "smart consumption" or "value-added experience" with immediate returns. This also drives traffic to Greenland's own hotel business, achieving cross-industry user conversion and exploring a business model of "green finance supporting real consumption."

These three structures are not simply parallel, but rather mutually reinforcing: financial attributes attract investors, green benefits establish core value, and consumption incentives expand the user base and increase user stickiness. Together, they transform a professional asset into a product that "breaks out of its niche," which is perhaps the core business model explanation for its ability to achieve the "sold out in ten minutes" market phenomenon.

III. After a hit product: Can the model be replicated?

Greenland Financial Innovation's attempt is like a stone thrown into a calm lake. The ripples it creates have brought many insights to the entire RWA and the field of green finance digitalization. At the same time, it clearly reflects the challenges and uncertainties that still need to be faced on the road ahead.

From a positive perspective, this practice offers several valuable insights. First, it explores a path for "RWA+" to break into the mainstream. Directly promoting highly specialized assets like carbon credits, infrastructure revenue rights, and notes to the general public is extremely difficult. However, the "RWA+consumer rights" or "RWA+cultural and creative empowerment" model provides a viable "sweetener" or "bridge" for these assets to reach a wider range of end-users. It suggests to the industry that the popularization of RWA does not necessarily require users to fully understand the underlying financial logic; it can also be achieved by attaching familiar and valued immediate value. Second, it demonstrates a cautious framework for exploring compliance. The product did not operate in a completely unregulated, pure-chain environment but instead partnered with local carbon emission trading venues (Guizhou Green Gold) and cultural property rights trading platforms (Jiangsu Cultural Exchange "Guowen Digital Assets"). The former ensured the compliance and credibility of carbon asset exchange, while the latter provided infrastructure with a certain official background for the circulation of digital certificates. This "dual-platform" collaboration model provides a transitional reference for innovation within the existing regulatory framework. Third, it reshapes the corporate ESG narrative. Corporate green investments, such as energy-saving renovations, are often viewed as cost-inducing or brand-image-enhancing projects. This model, however, directly transforms ESG practices into marketable digital products, opening up a possible path to convert green investments into new revenue streams or financing channels. It shifts ESG from a "payment" to a recyclable "value creation," stimulating the company's intrinsic innovation drive.

However, beneath the halo, the "shadow" also needs careful examination, concerning the sustainability and replicability of the model. The primary challenge lies in market depth and sustained supply. The extreme scarcity of the initial 500 units was key to creating the "sold out in seconds" phenomenon and stimulating a buying frenzy. Once it enters a normalized, large-scale issuance phase, can market demand sustainably absorb the supply? Will the cost of consumer rights subsidies become an unbearable burden? This requires longer-term market data for verification. Secondly, there is the intertwined risk of dual volatility. The product's value is affected by at least two factors: the price fluctuation of the underlying carbon credits in the carbon market, and the trading liquidity and price fluctuation of its digital certificates on platforms such as "Guowen Digital Assets." These two types of volatility overlap, making the product's final value highly uncertain. Whether the current promotional materials adequately address these risks and whether investor education is sufficient are important benchmarks for assessing its stability. Finally, there are questions about the sustainability of the model's core. To what extent does the current product's immense appeal rely on consumer rights subsidies from the "Greenland" brand? If these hotel discounts are stripped or significantly reduced, how much appeal will the product retain for ordinary consumers? This forces us to consider whether the core competitiveness of a product lies in the carbon assets themselves or in the "discount coupons." If the answer is the latter, then it may be closer to an innovative marketing tool than a pure financial product innovation, and its long-term independent viability remains to be tested.

Conclusion: A valuable experiment on "value packaging"

In conclusion, the significance of Greenland Financial Innovation's launch of its first carbon credit digital asset, which quickly sold out, far exceeds the success of a single product. Essentially, it is a valuable experiment on how to digitize and fragment professional and abstract "real-world assets," and then "wrap" them with immediate value that the public can understand and desire, thus successfully delivering them to ordinary people.

The key elements for the success of this experiment are clearly visible: a real, compliant underlying asset as the cornerstone of value; a digital shell that allows for small-scale investment and the transfer of expected value; a crucial channel linking to authoritative trading markets to realize ultimate value; and a series of consumer incentive "glue" that instantly bridges the gap with consumers. It proves that, with careful design, RWA can become approachable, fun, and even "profitable," thus breaking through niche circles.

However, the experiment has only just begun. The questions it raises are just as important as the path it demonstrates: How will value be sustained when subsidies fade? How will the market absorb the increased scale? Where will the competitive advantage lie when imitators abound? And, how can the complex risks be more clearly revealed to participants?

This case sets a vivid example for the industry. It foreshadows the emergence of more "RWA+" products in the future, such as "new energy vehicle charging pile revenue rights + charging coupons," "future ticket revenue from cultural and sports venues + performance privileges," and "renewable energy green certificates + electricity discounts." These will blur the boundaries between investment and consumption, allowing finance to be more deeply integrated into specific production and daily life scenarios. Ultimately, the standard for measuring the success or failure of such innovations will not only be whether they "sell out in minutes" at launch, but also whether they can build a healthy ecosystem that does not rely on excessive subsidies, has transparent risks and returns, and can create sustainable and real value for multiple parties (asset owners, platforms, and consumers) after the initial hype. For the RWA sector, the road to the mass market may be paved by one carefully designed "value package" after another. How to deliver these packages safely and sustainably will be a question that all practitioners need to answer in the long term.

Some of the information comes from the following sources:

China's first carbon credit-linked digital asset officially launched.

• Greenland Group's Golden Creation Building Carbon Credit Mechanism was selected as a key case study in the UN Global Compact, affirming Greenland's achievements in ESG.

Author: Liang Yu; Editor: Zhao Yidan