ETF turned currency turned ethical. Meet C².

Let me dive right in.

Assuming you know ETF, this is C² in a nutshell:

“C² is something between an ETF and a cryptocurrency. You could say it’s an ETF turned into a currency, making it more flexible to use and pay with. Like a crypto, you can spend it globally or even program it, but unlike most crypto it’s fully backed by real assets. Think of it as investment and money in one: if the underlying assets go up, the value of your coin goes up too. These assets aren’t random stocks. They’re a mix of halal-screened, Buffett-style value stocks, verified carbon credits, and food and agriculture holdings, so the coin stays grounded in the real economy and avoids the risks that caused past banking crises. The idea is to make it more stable than typical stocks and less inflation-sensitive than euros or dollars. But it’s still early: you can’t buy it yet and you shouldn’t until it’s properly regulated and independently audited.”

Now let’s unravel this a little more ...

From ETF to tokenized ETF

If an ETF is a basket of real-world assets that you can buy like a stock, then a tokenized ETF is the same basket, but the proof of ownership is stored on a secure online ledger (a blockchain) instead of only in a bank’s or broker’s private database.

Instead of holding ETF shares, you hold digital tokens that represent those shares.

You might think there is no broker or bank needed anymore, but that is not how it works yet. If you buy a tokenized ETF from Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree, or BlackRock, you still do it through their regulated platform or an approved broker. These products are still treated as investments, not as spendable money.

So what is the point?

For you as an investor, not much yet. It is mainly an efficiency upgrade for the fund manager. That is why most people have not heard of tokenized ETFs. Think of it as the same product with upgraded back-office plumbing.

From tokenized ETF to usable currency

This is where C² makes its first leap.

Tokenized ETFs stay in the investment world. C² takes the same logic, fully backed by real assets, and redesigns it as a currency you can actually use.

That is a big shift.

Like a cryptocurrency, you can move tokens instantly, split them into smaller pieces, or program them for automatic transactions (if X happens, then pay Y to Z).

Instead of just holding it as an investment, you could pay someone directly in C² without selling, converting, or waiting for a bank transfer. In that sense, C² behaves like money: instant, borderless, programmable, and backed by an ETF-style reserve.

So the first innovation is functional:

C² takes the ETF structure and turns it into something you can spend.

“self-correcting” mechanism like an ETF

C² also inherits and automates the self-correcting mechanism that makes ETFs stable.
If the token price drifts too far from the value of the assets behind it, smart contracts on the blockchain automatically issue new tokens (if the price is too high) or redeem and remove tokens (if it’s too low).

This constant mint/redeem process keeps the coin’s market value in line with its intrinsic value, 24/7, without a central bank.

That’s what gives C² its inflation resilience:
when money supply adjusts only through redeemable, asset-backed issuance,
it can’t be inflated by printing or debt.
It expands or contracts naturally as real value moves.

The second innovation: what’s inside the basket

Here’s where C² breaks even more clearly from the mainstream.

Most ETFs (and tokenized ETFs) track traditional indexes, like the S&P 500, Nasdaq, or global bond markets.
Those baskets are full of debt-based, speculative, or ethically questionable companies:

• banks that make money from interest (JPMorgan, etc),

• tech giants with high leverage or data privacy issues,

• and government bonds (which are literally debt instruments)

C²’s creator argues that this is the root problem:
our money and investments are tied to debt and speculation, not to real production.

So C²’s underlying assets are filtered and grounded.
Its reserve includes:

• Halal-compliant value stocks. Companies that produce real goods, have low debt, and don’t profit from interest or gambling.

• Carbon credits and ESG assets. This ties part of the value to measurable climate benefits.

• Food and agriculture holdings. This ties part of the reserve to tangible production like crops, food logistics, and land-use value.

  It keeps the coin connected to the real economy; Things people actually eat, grow, and trade. Assets that everyone depends on. Not just abstract finance, paper debt and speculation.

  Imagine a local farmer using C² tokens as collateral for a crop delivery. Payment is released automatically when goods are received. No bank in between.

  It’s about keeping value connected to real-world work, not financial abstraction.

In other words:

C² doesn’t just digitize money. It tries to clean up what money is backed by.

Why “value stocks” matter

Value stocks are the backbone of the C² design.
These are companies that earn steady profits from real activity such as manufacturing, logistics, energy, and transport, not from speculative growth.

They tend to weather crises better because they’re based on productivity, not leverage. Value stocks use dimensionless ratios (P/E, price-to-book) that stay stable even if currencies inflate/deflate. They’ve proven inflation-resilient, validated over 1970–2025 (~10.6% annualized returns post-2010) and it’s one reason C²’s base is designed to hold real value over time.

Value stocks are the opposite of the “make money on money you don’t have” system that dominates banking today. That system, called fractional reserve banking, lets banks lend far more money than they actually hold, creating money as debt and charging interest on it. It’s profitable but fragile, because when confidence breaks, the whole structure collapses, as it did in 2008.

C² rejects that model.
It says:

“No money created out of thin air. No interest income. Every token backed by tangible value.”

The idea in one line

C² is a tokenized ETF turned currency, backed by halal value stocks, carbon credits, and food and agriculture assets. It is a digital currency designed to be both stable and ethical.

Why this matters

Whether or not C² succeeds, it points toward a bigger trend:
finance and ethics are starting to overlap again.

We’re moving from money that’s built on debt and speculation
to money that could be transparent, productive, and real.

If ETFs made investing accessible to everyone,
and crypto made money programmable,
then maybe C², or something like it, could make money ethical.

A final note

C² is still in development.
It’s a concept, not a product.
No tokens are being sold, and Choice NV (the Belgian company exploring this) isn’t issuing anything yet.

The idea is promising: an ethical, asset-backed digital currency that bridges investment and money. But it is essential to wait for regulation, independent audits, and full transparency of the assets behind it.

You can learn more at LinkTree Bart Van Coppenolle, where you find a 70-page white paper amongst others.

Subscribe to my blog for updates if like simple, no-jargon updates as this new kind of “ethical money” takes shape.