The Albany Gazette - Proof Is the New Plastic: SMX Turns Sustainability Into an $824 Billion Market Opportunity (NASDAQ:SMX)

That shift in expectation has exposed decades of empty promises and greenwashing gloss. Conferences and commitments didn't move the needle because talk doesn't build trust. The market has finally caught up to a single truth: proof is currency. And in the $50 billion global recycling market, that currency carries real purchasing power - something SMX (NASDAQ:SMX) is positioning itself to own.

And it can. That's because SMX doesn't sell slogans; it sells evidence. Its molecular marker technology embeds identity at the material level, turning plastics into self-verifying assets. Each marked polymer carries its own digital passport - a permanent fingerprint that can be tracked across its entire lifecycle, from collection to reprocessing and resale.

That might sound like chemistry, but it's actually economics. For decades, mistrust over recycled content has stalled capital and slowed adoption. SMX changes that equation by transforming recyclables from "probable" to provable. It's not just a scientific milestone - it's a financial one.

Markets Are Choosing Proof Over Promises
There's never been a better time for that shift. Global demand for recycled plastics is skyrocketing as governments impose quotas, consumer brands pledge net-zero packaging, and ESG investors insist on measurable impact. Yet, recycling rates remain frustratingly low - barely in the teens across the U.S. and not much better elsewhere. The weak link has always been verification. Without it, trust collapses, premiums vanish, and the circular economy stalls.

SMX's solution flips the script. By embedding proof directly into materials, it upgrades recycled plastic from a discounted commodity to a premium product with traceable value. The company has already validated its system at scale - first by marking and tracing 21 tons of natural rubber from tree to tire, and now applying that same methodology to plastics globally.

Across ASEAN, SMX is embedding markers through partnerships with Bio-Packaging, Skypac, and A*STAR, turning everyday packaging into blockchain-verifiable materials. In the U.S., its Tradepro partnership is deploying FDA-compliant molecular markers in food-grade plastics - bringing traceability to one of the most tightly regulated industries on the planet. SMX has also teamed with REDWAVE to successfully sort and verify black and flame-retardant plastics - materials that were once recycling dead-ends.

Proof Points Become Profit Points
Each new success across industries and continents reinforces the same pattern: SMX isn't just participating in the circular economy - it's becoming its operating system. And the entity that controls the operating system usually captures the lion's share of the value.

The real story here isn't regulation; it's monetization. SMX's molecular markers, combined with digital ledger verification and tokenized credits through its Plastic Cycle Token (PCT), turn waste into verified assets. Recycled materials gain a digital identity - one that can be audited, traded, and valued. What began as a compliance tool is evolving into an entirely new asset class.

So, the question is no longer whether recycled plastics matter. It's who will own the proof layer that makes global circularity possible. SMX has spent years developing that backbone, and it's stepping into the market at the exact moment proof became non-negotiable.

For brands, regulators, and stakeholders, that's not just an innovation - it's an invitation. Proof is now measurable, tradable, and profitable. SMX didn't wait for the circular economy to arrive. It's already powering it.

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.

EMAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(T.Brown--TAG)