Kelly will advise and invest in cryptocurrency project creating corporate sustainability solutions and liquid markets for carbon credits and natural capital with blockchain

Veridium Labs Ltd., the environmental fintech company creating an open natural capital market powered by blockchain, has announced that prominent investor Brian Kelly has joined its Board of Advisors. Announced at the United Nations headquarters in a forum moderated by CNN host FareedZakaria, Brian Kelly will advise the team on business development and lend his expertise in investing and cryptocurrency to further Veridium Labs’ mission of creating a transparent and liquid marketplace for natural capital, and providing economically viable solutions for corporate sustainability. Last month, Veridium Labs, in collaboration with ConsenSys, the world’s largest blockchain venture studio, announced plans to create the platform. Alchemist Ventures, a full-service blockchain consulting company will be providing advisory services.

As the CEO and Founder of digital asset investment firm BKCM LLC, Kelly brings more than 25 years of experience in financial markets to the Veridium team. He also has an extensive background in the blockchain and cryptocurrencies and authored the book ‘The Bitcoin Big Bang – How Alternative Currencies are About to Change the World.’ Kelly is a CNBC contributor and regularly appears on the popular program Fast Money.

BKCM CEO and Founder Brian Kelly said: “With Veridium we have the first of its kind opportunity to develop a private market solution to a global problem, by unlocking the value of natural capital we can use free market forces as an incentive for conservation.”

Veridium Labs’ Board of Advisors also include experts in the field, Jeff Reece, President, Fundry Capital; Jim Procanik, President, Green Projects and Co-Founder of InfiniteEarth Ltd; and John Bishop, an activist investor focused on environmentally and socially responsible impact investments. Veridium Foundation’s Board of Advisors includes Martijn Wilder, Member of the Order of Australia, Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Environmental Markets and Climate Change, Chair of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and a Director of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, WWF (Australia) and the Climate Council; Sean McDermott, an environmental law specialist in the offshore wind energy business and board member for Envision Corporation; and Nigel Rivers, CEO at Capital Solutions; and Gerald Prolman, President of Everland, a marketing company that represents some of the world’s largest and highest quality portfolio of REDD+ projects in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Veridium Labs’ partner EnVision Corporation has already developed markets for carbon credits and boasts a client list including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Microsoft, State Street, Zurich Insurance, Allianz Insurance, and Intuit.

Veridium Labs Co-Founder Todd Lemons said: “Veridium Labs’ team of world-leading experts in investment, cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and environmental services will ensure our success in creating sustainable supply chain solutions and a liquid marketplace to help unlock the still largely untapped value of natural capital.

“We are delighted to welcome Brian Kelly to the Board and trust his counsel on financial markets, business development, and blockchain will be an invaluable resource that contributes greatly to achieving our mission to unlock the enormous natural capital market,” added Lemons.

Veridium will offer TGR tokens in a public crowdsale set to commence in Q4 2017. TGRs are backed by, and reflect ownership rights in, Triple Gold REDD+ Verified Carbon Credits. Each REDD+ credit is equivalent to the removal of one ton of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and conserves, on average, one square meter of biodiverse tropical forest. TGRs will be the first high quality natural capital-backed token onboarded to the blockchain through the VERIDIUM Network. TGRs use the ERC20 token standard and are issued on the Ethereumblockchain. When new natural capital assets like water rights, renewal energy, and biodiversity credits are acquired and verified as meeting the internationally-recognized standards such as the VCS and Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) standards, or American Carbon Registry (ACR) standards, they may be added to the VERIDIUM Network. The decision whether to onboard new natural capital assets will be made by the independent, non-profit VeridiumFoundation.

VERIDIUM membership rewards tokens will also be issued during the crowdsale. The tokens grant holders access to rewards points from all natural capital assets onboarded to the blockchain through the VERIDIUM Network. These rewards points may then be used to obtain preferential access to new  natural capital tokens as they are added to the VERIDIUM Network.

At the token offering, up to 15 million TGRs will be available, backed by 15 million independently audited and registered Triple Gold REDD+ credits generated by the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve in Borneo, Indonesia. The Reserve is a high conservation value, tropical peat forest approximately the size of Singapore, and one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. It contains the highest biodiversity and carbon stocks of any forest type, and filters and conserves trillions of liters of fresh water every day. Most notably, it protects over 120 threatened, vulnerable and endangered species listed on the Cites RED list and is home to one of the largest remaining high-density populations of endangered orangutans.