NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 5, 2025 / In today's markets, proof has become the most valuable currency. Money only moves when trust is secure, brands rise or fall on credibility, and regulators no longer take promises at face value. We've entered an economy where evidence is not optional- it's the entry ticket. And the companies capable of minting this verifiable proof hold the keys to unlocking entirely new markets. This is precisely where SMX (NASDAQ: SMX) has planted its flag.

SMX turns materials into data. Its patented molecular markers are embedded directly into plastics, metals, textiles, and natural rubber, giving every item a scannable, tamper-resistant identity tied to a verified digital passport. That link follows goods from origin through use, recycling, and chemical transformation, proving recycled content, authenticity, and chain of custody in real time. The result is enforceable compliance, anti-counterfeiting, and true material efficiency that converts sustainability from aspiration into measurable value. SMX has created a system where proof itself becomes the product.

History shows what happens when proof becomes standardized. Paper money became trusted currency not because of the paper, but because of the proof systems around it: watermarks, signatures, and central bank guarantees. Today, investors and consumers are demanding the same verifiable authenticity across materials. Companies can't hide behind broad sustainability pledges. They need a technology layer that proves what is recycled, what is safe, and what is authentic. SMX has built and offers, that layer, making proof as bankable as cash.

Proof Can Be Monetized

The implications go beyond compliance. Proof can be monetized, audited, and traded. This is where SMX's Plastic Cycle Token (PCT) enters the story. The PCT is a digital-chain-based unit tied directly to verified recycled content. Every time SMX's molecular markers validate the recovery and reuse of plastics, that data can be represented as a token. Unlike traditional carbon credits, which often lack transparency and are prone to inaccuracies, PCTs are tethered to physical proof. They are minted only when materials are actually recycled and verified. That transforms waste into a financial instrument, turning proof into currency in the most literal sense.

This shift could not come at a more urgent moment. For decades, recycling systems collapsed under frameworks that focused too narrowly on PET bottles and food-grade packaging while ignoring massive streams of industrial resins, automotive polymers, textiles, and electronics. The result was stalled recycling rates, rising incineration costs, and growing skepticism about sustainability claims. The problem wasn't ambition- it was proof. Now, Singapore has partnered with SMX to launch the world's first national plastic passport program through its research powerhouse ASTAR, setting a precedent that could reshape how countries measure and monetize materials.

By embedding proof at the molecular level, SMX is creating the backbone of a new market dynamic. Proof of recycled content is no longer just a regulatory checkbox. It is an asset that brands can bank, governments can regulate against, and investors can measure. The PCT framework takes this one step further, enabling open-market trading of verified recycled inputs. That's not waste management; it's asset creation by moving recycling from a cost center to a profit pool. In other words, for companies, proof of recycling becomes more than a sustainability talking point. It becomes a line item that carries real, tradable value.

Transformative Tool for Global Brands

For global brands, this immediately changes the calculus. A beverage company that can prove every bottle is made with verified recycled resin wins not only regulatory approval but consumer trust and investor premium. An automaker that can verify dashboards and bumpers are manufactured from recycled polymers positions itself as both sustainable and defensible in a world where ESG scrutiny is relentless. In each case, proof becomes the premium, which is something buyers, regulators, and shareholders are willing to pay for.

Singapore may help write the first chapter, but this model is already primed for regional replication across ASEAN, which can serve a vast plastics market that is fragmented and desperate for solutions that unite environmental ambition with financial incentive. SMX technology can be that conduit.

Don't underestimate the potential. Just as carbon credits reshaped how the world valued emissions, proof of recycled content is set to redefine how the world values other types of materials. The inflection point is here. Proof is the new currency, and SMX technology could serve as its mint.

References:

• Singapore Statutes Online. Environmental Public Health (Public Cleansing) Regulations - Incineration gate-fee schedule; revised 2024.

• Nasdaq.com. "SMX Announces Planned Launch of World's First Plastic Cycle Token." Press release; 2024.

• National Environment Agency (NEA). Refuse Collection Fees for Households. Revised 2024; accessed 5 August 2025.

• National Environment Agency (NEA). Mandatory Packaging Reporting portal. Accessed 5 August 2025.

• Los Angeles Tribune. "Carbon Credits Had Their Day… Now the SMX Plastic Cycle Token…" Feature article; 2025.

• National Environment Agency (NEA). "New Licensing Regime for General Waste Disposal Facilities." Technical brief & dialogue-session slides; 2024.

• National Environment Agency (NEA). Waste & Recycling Statistics 2014 - 2023. Singapore: NEA; 2024.

• Shunpoly.com. "How Much Plastic Is Wasted Each Year in Singapore?" Accessed 5 August 2025.

• National Environment Agency (NEA). Waste-Statistics & Overall Recycling (interactive dashboard). Updated 2024; accessed 5 August 2025.

About SMX

As global businesses face new and complex challenges relating to carbon neutrality and meeting new governmental and regional regulations and standards, SMX is able to offer players along the value chain access to its marking, tracking, measuring and digital platform technology to transition more successfully to a low-carbon economy.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intends," "may," "will," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example: matters relating to the Company's fight against abusive and possibly illegal trading tactics against the Company's stock; successful launch and implementation of SMX's joint projects with manufacturers and other supply chain participants of gold, steel, rubber and other materials; changes in SMX's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; SMX's ability to develop and launch new products and services, including its planned Plastic Cycle Token; SMX's ability to successfully and efficiently integrate future expansion plans and opportunities; SMX's ability to grow its business in a cost-effective manner; SMX's product development timeline and estimated research and development costs; the implementation, market acceptance and success of SMX's business model; developments and projections relating to SMX's competitors and industry; and SMX's approach and goals with respect to technology. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing views as of any subsequent date, and no obligation is undertaken to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the ability to maintain the listing of the Company's shares on Nasdaq; changes in applicable laws or regulations; any lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMX's business; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and the possibility of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which SMX operates; the risk that SMX and its current and future collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize SMX's products or services, or experience significant delays in doing so; the risk that the Company may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that the Company will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that the Company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; the risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to fully and timely meet their obligations; the risk that SMX is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; the possibility that SMX may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties described in SMX's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited