ReFi DAO is at the forefront of catalyzing the Regenerative Finance (ReFi) movement, a pioneering force dedicated to leveraging Web3 technologies to foster projects and systems that prioritize ecological and social well-being. ReFi DAO’s projects range from local initiatives driving tangible community impacts to global efforts aimed at driving ecological impact and sustainable development with innovative finance & technology solutions. With a proven track record and a clear vision for the future, we seek support to expand our impact and continue being a cornerstone of the Web3 climate community.

Ecological Impact & Recent Updates

In the past year, ReFi DAO has expanded its ecological and educational initiatives. Some recent highlights and actions include:

• ReFi Week and Mass Tree Planting: Organized a collaborative week of workshops and innovation sessions, culminating in the planting of over 700 trees using Silvi Protocol's dMRV technology. This initiative demonstrated the fusion of digital tools with real-world ecological action, reinforcing our commitment to tangible climate solutions. Read more about ReFi Week

  

• Initiation of ReFi EBF: In partnership between ReFi DAO & The Lexicon, ReFi EBF is an initiative with a mission to intertwine and enhance the Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF) within the ecosystem of Regenerative Finance (ReFi) and Web3 technology. We believe that EBF will serve as a foundational framework for evaluating genuine ecological impact within the Web3 & ReFi domain, and beyond. So far, this initiative has helped to catalyse a wave of EBF-related interest and action in the Web3 & ReFi space, with many organisations pledging their commitment towards furthering a more holistic approach to environmental impact beyond carbon tunnel vision. Learn more about this partnership

  

• Supporting ReFi Local Nodes, Ecological Impact, & #OperationWebTree: Increased funding and support for ReFi Local Nodes, which have initiated projects like urban reforestation in Miami and a carbon-backed NFT marketplace in Tanzania. These projects are pivotal in driving localized regenerative efforts and showcasing the scalable impact of decentralized environmental action. See here for a comprehensive overview of the work and impacts of the ReFi Local Node Network in 2023: Regenerative Journeys: ReFi Local Nodes 2023 Roundup.

  

• Launching the ReFi Local Node Beta Incubator Program: Expanded our support for community-driven regeneration projects globally by initiating the Beta Incubator program, which fosters the development of new Local Nodes. This program is designed to catalyze and support innovative local solutions to ecological challenges. Learn more about the incubator

  

• Publishing The State of ReFi 2024 Report: In collaboration with CARBON Copy, we produced a comprehensive report detailing the advancements and narratives within the ReFi space. This document serves as a resource for understanding the impact and progress of regenerative finance, guiding future actions and strategies. Read the report

  

Background & Origins

ReFi DAO emerged as a founder-led startup community during the rapid influx of talent & capital that emerged in the 2021 ReFi boom. Since then, and thanks to the support of our community, we have become the cultural home of ReFi for top founders, investors and builders at the intersection of impact and web3. We are here to support the mycelial growth of regenerative culture, technology and ventures, both online and in-person. So far, we’ve enabled more than 100 events hosted in 58 cities, reached over 80k+ listeners on ReFi Podcast, served over 300 entrepreneurs and deployed over $55k in grant capital to Local Nodes via Gitcoin.

What are ReFi Local Nodes? 🗺

Connected by an online community, and enabled by the most powerful tools of our time—Local Nodes bring the physical and digital world together into a symphony of inner and outer regeneration. They are for founders conducting radical experiments to unlock a regenerative economy at scale, they’re for leaders of public, private and third-sector institutions, and they’re for anyone committed to taking action, building community, and making the world a better place.

One node at a time, we aim to create an interconnected, self-sustaining world, where technology and humanity walk hand in hand towards regeneration. You can browse through the list of existing Local Nodes at refidao.com/community/local. For an overview of the impact created by the local Node Network in 2023, check out this post: Regenerative Journeys: ReFi Local Nodes 2023 Roundup.

We're proud to be supporting a global network of founders, investors, and community builders who are using the power of decentralized technologies to solve the most pressing challenges of our time.

2024 Roadmap & Next Steps

As ReFi DAO continues to evolve, our 2024 roadmap focuses on enhancing governance structures, improving impact tracking, and supporting the growth of local initiatives. Here are the key developments planned for the coming year:

• ReFi DAO-ification: Formed in December 2023, The ReFi DAO-ification WG has been making significant progress in its efforts to enhance and redesign ReFi DAO’s Governance, Legal Framework, and Operations. We are well on the way towards launching ReFi DAO 2.0 - a new organisational structure that aims to foster autonomy and efficiency, with a range of specialised circles and working groups aligned towards our global mission. Furthermore, we have initiated a partnership between Trusted Seed and Regen Score to develop and implement a Reputation Points system to enhance reputation, governance, contribution accounting, and incentive dynamics across the global ReFi DAO network.

  

• Local Node Impact Tracking & Retroactive Funding: ReFi DAO is actively experimenting with hypercerts for tracking impact across the global network of ReFi Local Nodes, and with an aim to channel resources towards those with the highest verifiable impact through a retroactive funding round. We are also exploring the potential for a custom hypercert minter tool to improve user experience (UX) and streamline the process for minting hypercerts across all Local Nodes, enabling a decentralized and transparent approach to contribution and impact tracking of Local Nodes.

  

• ReFi EBF & Web-of-Trust: Web3-based innovations such as Hypercerts and Ethereum Attestations show promise to transform how ecological benefits are measured, verified, and valued. As part of ReFi EBF, in partnership with the EBF Web-of-Trust hackathon project, ReFi DAO is initiating a research project —> "Activating an EBF Web-of-Trust: Leveraging Web3 Innovations for Ecological Impact". This research aims to explore how the Ecological Benefits Framework (EBF) can be integrated with Web3 technologies to form a trust-based, decentralized network that validates ecological impacts.

  

• ReFi DAO 2.0 & Local Node Funding Round: Following the wrap-up of the Local Node Beta Incubator program as well as the further developments and DAO-ification of ReFi DAO as detailed above, we are aiming towards a new Gitcoin funding round for GG21 - ReFi DAO 2.0 & Local Nodes. With match funding sponsorship generously committed by ReFi Medellin and EcoSynthesisX, alongside Celo Regional DAOs including Celo Europe and Koh Celo, we are well on the way towards a community-powered funding round to power the next evolution of ReFi DAO.

Core Team

Our core team currently consists of four key people (Monty, Anna, Scott, Luiz) but is also supported by a global network of contributors from around the world.

Monty (Merlin) Bryant (Linktree) - Founder at ReFi DAO, board member at Trusted Seed , steward at Celo Public Goods . TEDx speaker ‘Can Crypto Regenerate the World.

Anna Kaić (Twitter, LinkedIn) - ReFi DAO marketing manager and currently leading the Local Node Beta Cohort & Incubator Program. She has been in the blockchain-for-good space since 2021, working on marketing and communications for projects like Proof of Humanity, the Crypto Commons Association, MetaGame and Urbánika. She is currently a scholar of SheFi Season 10.

Scott Morris (LinkedIn) - Currently co-leading the Local Node Beta Cohort, Scott is a political economist and economics systems engineer operating at the intersection of capital, currency, and collective consciousness. He utilizes an interdisciplinary, systems approach which focuses on stakeholders and structural incentives relative to behaviors and outcomes, and draws on deeply specialized knowledge in regenerative finance and complementary currencies.

Luiz Fernando (Twitter) - Founder & lead of ReFi Barcelona, gardener at Trusted Seed, operations at ReFi DAO.

The Future is Regenerative. Come Join! ✨

ReFi DAO stands at the forefront of combining technology with ecological finance to create a sustainable future. By supporting our initiative, you're investing in a resilient, equitable, and environmentally conscious economic system. Join us in this regenerative journey by engaging with our Blog, Podcast, or by becoming an active participant in our Telegram community. Let's build a regenerative future together.

Project Links & Resources

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