Carbon Trade Exchange, a London-based digital spot marketplace for voluntary carbon credits, has surpassed one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) traded since its founding 18 years ago, reflecting the growing role of digital trading infrastructure in connecting businesses with climate finance.
The exchange, known as CTX, operates around the clock and serves project developers, brokers, non-governmental organizations, and corporate buyers seeking to purchase and retire voluntary carbon credits.
It has facilitated transactions across projects in more than 60 countries, connecting participants to credits registered under recognized standards including Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard, the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Global Carbon Registry.
A Platform Built For Scale
Credits listed on CTX are held in escrow, guaranteeing agreed prices on delivery or retirement, with pricing starting from as little as $1 per tonne and varying by project, vintage, and standard.
Corporate buyers can purchase and retire credits directly through a Carbon Buyers Club account using a credit card, with CTX arranging retirement certificates on their behalf without requiring a separate registry account.
The company is also developing an application programming interface that would allow business-to-business retail and service platforms to integrate carbon credit procurement and retirement workflows directly into their own systems.
Relevant: Carbon Trading Beats Carbon Taxes In Cutting Emissions, Global Study Finds
“This milestone represents businesses choosing to put capital behind climate action,” said Wayne Sharpe, CTX’s founder and chief executive. “The work now is to make access to quality carbon credits more transparent, practical and scalable worldwide.”
The announcement comes as attention intensifies on carbon market infrastructure under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes mechanisms for international cooperation, robust accounting and high-integrity credit transfers between countries.
CTX said it encourages organizations to prioritize reducing their own emissions and use high-quality credits to address residual emissions and support verified climate projects rather than as a substitute for direct action.
Read more: COP30: IETA-PwC Survey Finds Cautious Optimism In Global Carbon Trading
