The financial sector is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, known as the Refi track. This emerging concept combines the principles of regenerative economics with decentralized financial technology, aiming to redefine the financial industry.
The inspiration for the Refi track comes from the regenerative economics concept of economist and philosopher John Fullerton, emphasizing maximizing community value, resource regeneration, environmental protection, and long-term financial prosperity. Although it did not initially involve cryptocurrency, this concept has sparked a new way of thinking about finance.
In the Refi track, we see the practical application of this concept. Through decentralized financial technology, it aims to achieve broader accessibility of financial services while eliminating the information asymmetry problem of intermediary institutions.
Although Refi (Regenerative Finance) does not yet have an authoritative definition, its development depends on community consensus, moving forward in an open and self-evolving manner. In this article, we will delve into the projects in the Refi track, revealing how they are shaping the future of financial innovation, a promising field that will bring new possibilities to the financial world.
According to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance in August of last year, global renewable energy investment surged to $358 billion in the first half of 2023, a 22% increase from the beginning of the previous year, reaching a historic high in six months. At the same time, related capital markets also experienced rapid growth. Commitments to venture capital and private equity expansion for renewable energy companies reached $10.4 billion, a 25% increase from the first half of 2022.
The Refi track is not limited to the blockchain and carbon offset fields. It is emerging to address climate and sustainability challenges. Currently, many Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains explicitly state that they will promote and support a low-carbon economy and provide deployment incentives for ReFi projects. These include Cosmos, Internet Computer, Hedera, Topl, Polygon, Celo, Near, Algorand, and others. The primary use case for ReFi is climate, aiming to bring more transparency to the global carbon offset market, which is currently valued at $270 billion. The carbon offset market has long faced credibility issues from both the supply and demand sides.
Regen Network, based on the Cosmos blockchain, focuses on helping businesses purchase, trade, and redeem carbon credits on-chain. Meanwhile, Klima DAO has created a tokenized carbon offset solution, which as of the end of January 2023, has transparently removed over 17 million tons of carbon dioxide from the global atmosphere.
The ReFi track is a vibrant field that is constantly evolving to address climate change and sustainable development challenges, while pushing financial innovation to new heights. Below are introductions to several currently promising track projects.
Dione Protocol: Based on the Avalanche public chain, with POS as the core of L1 and compatible with Ethereum EVM
Dione Protocol aims to lower the barriers to entry for the renewable energy industry, enabling consumers to build their own "green energy" businesses. Through blockchain technology, Dione has created a platform that incentivizes the use of green energy and makes the energy production and supply chain process more efficient and transparently connected to end users, utilities, investors, and regulatory agencies.
The core architecture of Dione is an L1 blockchain based on the PoS mechanism, compatible with EVM, and built on Avalanche, with powerful processing capabilities and strict data privacy protection.
The project has built an energy trading market called Nebra, which directly connects energy producers and consumers, enabling peer-to-peer energy trading to save resources and costs. Although transactions are conducted through Nebra, the actual transmission of energy units still occurs through the power grid.
Interestingly, the validation nodes of the Dione blockchain use the Starklink satellite link provided by Elon Musk's SpaceX, while using solar power generation, enabling it to operate even in remote areas, truly achieving an "environmentally friendly" and "decentralized" blockchain.
Although Dione's own blockchain is named Odyssey (Odyseyy), it is currently in the testnet stage and is about to migrate to the mainnet. Despite the project's two-year existence, the mainnet launch progress has been slow, but the market response is worth looking forward to.
Dione's native token DIONE has been deployed on Ethereum, will migrate to the mainnet, and will no longer be subject to tax implications. Recently, the DIONE token has seen some growth in the secondary market price, with a relatively low market value. With the continuous increase in mainnet launch and environmental concerns, the DIONE token is expected to attract more market attention and potential speculative opportunities.
Dione Protocol represents an exciting project that is expected to change the landscape of the energy industry, combining renewable energy with blockchain technology and providing new possibilities for a more sustainable future.
Rowan Energy: Asset prices have doubled in one month, with a more than 20-fold increase in the year
Rowan Energy, a new energy company, is driving a green revolution in solar energy utilization. The company has its own L1 blockchain, which uses blockchain technology to track the production of residential rooftop solar energy, addressing transparency issues in the traditional energy market.
Rowan Energy employs a consensus mechanism called "Proof of Generation," where users participate in maintaining the blockchain by proving their solar energy generation, which is more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.
To achieve this goal, Rowan Energy offers a hardware solution called SmartMiner, which combines a smart meter and blockchain cryptocurrency mining. Users install it on the wiring of solar panels, and this smart box not only calculates power consumption but also generates cryptocurrency rewards. Rowan Energy will pay $RWN tokens worth 10 pence for every 1 kilowatt-hour of solar energy generated.
At the same time, Rowan Energy encourages long-term use of clean energy. Every time a user purchases a SmartMiner or conducts a transaction on the L1 blockchain, a certain proportion of $RWN tokens will be repurchased to support the token's value.
The total supply of RWN tokens is 545 million, with 150 million allocated to VC and private placement rounds. Currently, the circulating supply of RWN is 195 million, and the remaining 180 million is used for DePIN mining output. In the market, RWN has surged by 200% in the past month, with a 20-fold increase in the year, reaching a market value of $33 million.
Rowan Energy's innovative approach empowers solar mining, aiming to promote the adoption of renewable energy and achieve dual benefits of environmental protection and economic benefits. This project represents a revolution in the energy industry, paving the way for the future of clean energy.
SolareumChain: Innovative PoG and PoH proof technologies, allowing users actively involved in environmental protection to earn income
SolareumChain uses blockchain technology to incentivize the widespread use of green energy in token form to address the energy crisis. This L1 employs two innovative consensus mechanisms: Proof of Generation (PoG) and Proof of Holding (PoH).
PoG, the proof of new energy production, is the core of SolareumChain. In Solareum, "miners" are rewarded not for consuming electricity but for producing electricity in a renewable manner, including solar power plants, wind power plants, tidal power plants, geothermal installations, and individual rooftop solar panels. They not only generate new energy but also enhance the security of the Solareum L1.
PoG technology ensures that the generated renewable energy is verified and confirmed as a legitimate source, preventing any single entity or group from having too much control, achieving a truly decentralized solution. This approach not only makes SolareumChain more environmentally friendly but also more secure.
PoH aims to reward individuals holding Solareum tokens (SRM) and meeting specific criteria. This unique mechanism allows anyone to easily become a validator, contributing to the network's security and integrity. The more SRM held, the more income earned, and there is an opportunity to participate in energy generation, becoming an essential part of the SolareumChain ecosystem. SRM is also used in Solareum's public energy market, ensuring the transparency of transactions and verification processes.
Currently, SolareumChain is still in the testnet stage but has made progress. The testnet is processing transactions and undergoing further testing through connections with Tesla batteries. Solareum plans to announce the developer program soon, inviting developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) on the testnet in preparation for the public mainnet launch.
In terms of token performance, SRM has seen an increase of around 35% in the past month, with relatively small price fluctuations over the year, and a market value of less than $1.5 million. Although there is relatively little detail in project documentation and social media, SRM tokens still possess high-risk and high-potential characteristics, and their future development is still worth close attention.
Arkreen Network: A Web3-based carbon reduction infrastructure, bringing together energy supply and demand
Arkreen Network, abbreviated as $AKRE, is a Web3-based carbon reduction infrastructure focused on connecting and monetizing global renewable energy resources. The network brings together energy producers and consumers, enabling them to exchange real-time electricity data and build carbon reduction applications.
In the Arkreen Network, energy suppliers, including owners of solar photovoltaic equipment and households with on-demand energy conservation, can report their renewable electricity production, storage, and consumption and receive rewards. Consumers can access electricity data for creating applications and services, such as issuing renewable energy certificates and virtual power plants.
To achieve these goals, Arkreen Network utilizes Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and token economic technologies to digitize energy facility parameters and create a digital twin environment. The project's vision is to drive electricity producers to generate more renewable electricity, reduce fossil fuel demand, and improve energy utilization efficiency.
Arkreen supports various "miners" to participate in AKRE token mining and introduces Smart Plugs, which can calculate appliance energy consumption and provide remote power, allowing users to supply green power to appliances through them. Each Smart Plug also mints a corresponding NFT.
AKRE tokens can be distributed as rewards to contributors, used to pay network transaction fees, and used to purchase green energy data services. The total token supply is 10 billion, with 30% allocated for mining and the rest distributed to the team, advisors, investors, and other ecosystem participants, all with certain locking and linear release clauses. Although the token's TGE has not yet occurred, Arkreen Network is actively advancing the project. Unlike previous projects, Arkreen focuses more on energy-related data and credentials, and more applications of the token require close attention to its official updates.
The development of ReFi may benefit ecological conservation, and more Web3 innovations that benefit the Earth are expected to emerge
Looking back at the above projects and tracks, we can draw some key points:
First, these projects span multiple fields, covering L1 blockchains, DePIN, and even RWA, highlighting the breadth and potential of the regenerative finance (ReFi) field.
Second, the market value of these projects is relatively low, and compared to well-known blockchain projects, they have not yet received full recognition and attention.
Third, participation in these projects requires a certain threshold, such as owning solar panels, purchasing specific equipment, or integrating the entire new energy supply chain.
However, these thresholds may also be the reason for the relatively small scale of these projects. The clean energy industry itself involves complex interests and policy constraints, and the traditional energy landscape is difficult to overturn. Although blockchain and IoT technologies provide some improvements, achieving comprehensive change still requires time and resources.
It is precisely because of the complexity of these projects that they can better demonstrate their social value. The challenges they face may be part of their value, making the ReFi field worth paying attention to.
In the midst of the noise of the crypto market, whether there is enough patience to wait for the maturity of these projects still needs to be observed. For investors looking for opportunities, low-market-value projects may be a potential choice.
The mission of the ReFi Foundation is to redesign the monetary system to better harmonize with the Earth. The traditional financial system converts natural resources into currency but overlooks the protection and restoration of ecosystems. This requires fundamental change.
Although the ReFi field is currently mainly focused on carbon credit trading, we can optimistically predict that the development of ReFi will introduce more currencies supported by natural capital, enabling verifiable transaction transfers through blockchain, covering a wider range of areas, including green agriculture, water purification, and biodiversity conservation.
The development of green Web3 is crucial for environmental protection. Blockchain technology is a core prerequisite for realizing Web3, and one of the core principles of Web3 is to build a more environmentally friendly digital world. Although Bitcoin mining has raised concerns about energy consumption, blockchain technology is also seeking solutions, such as using renewable energy and effectively utilizing idle energy.
In conclusion, although these projects face numerous challenges, they represent active exploration and attempts in the ReFi field. While closely monitoring the crypto market, we should also continue to pay attention to these projects, as they may provide key insights and guidance for building a more sustainable and environmentally friendly digital future. Hopefully, these projects can overcome difficulties and make greater contributions to global renewable energy and environmental conservation. This is also our common responsibility and challenge.
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