Happy Monday, regens! 👋

Tereza Bízková here with this week's roundup. I'm a tech writer, journalist (also writing a book on NFTs for good!), and the Ecosystem Communications Manager at Topl, the layer-zero blockchain protocol built to drive sustainable and inclusive growth. 🌱

In this week's edition, we'll be talking about crypto donations to support earthquakes in Syria & Turkey, and as always, we'll be sharing top news, events, and jobs from the ReFi world and beyond. Let's jump right in. 👇

Over $5.9m in Crypto Donations for Earthquake Relief 🕊️

On February 6, Turkey and Syria were hit by devastating earthquakes, resulting in a death toll of over 47,000. Yet in the wake of this tragedy, there has also been an enormous wave of global solidarity, and after use in Ukraine (dubbed "the world's first crypto war"), cryptocurrencies have shown to be an effective tool to help those in need.

When a natural disaster hits, there's no time for "within the next five business days". And if you add painful exchange rates, wire transfers simply aren't the best option. But to support a cause effectively, there is one key question to address:

How do I know that funds will get to those who truly need them as quickly as possible?

On-chain transaction provides immediate transfers and transaction traceability, proving that a donation landed in the wallet it was supposed to. For these reasons, apart from the mere fact that more people now own crypto than ever before, the crypto donations for Syria and Turkey have already exceeded $5.9 million.

Donations from big exchanges 🏦

A huge chunk of the donation came from crypto exchanges. One of the biggest donors, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, shared on Twitter that BNB would airdrop worth $100 to all Binance users in 10 cities impacted by the earthquake—identified by proof of address.

Other donors include The Avalanche Foundation ($1 million), BtcTurk ($318K), ByBit ($100k), and many more.

QF for disaster relief ⛑

Another emerging trend in aid is the use of blockchain-enabled quadratic funding (QF) that includes a matching pool to incentivise additional donations.

Giveth has partnered with projects, including Gitcoin, Inverter Network, and Supermodular.xyz to match $25k fundraising goal in a quadratic funding round that runs until March 20 to support NGOs providing humanitarian aid in southern Turkey.

Check out Earthquake Relief QF Matching Pool

This project intends to raise $25,000 to launch a quadratic funding round to support the survivor

--> Giveth

Support and verify 🕵🏻‍♂️

It's amazing to see the enormous support from the crypto community. At the same time, we must also always stay vigilant for bad actors.  Just a few days after the earthquake, there was a surge of emotive messages linked to fake wallet addresses trending on Twitter. To support the cause, always verify information or utilize trusted platforms like The Giving Block, which started a page dedicated solely to Syria and Turkey.

Our hearts go out to the people & communities effected by these disasters, and a huge thank you to all the regens providing love & support 💚

Here are the top 5 most voted projects of the week at refidao.com:

1. ️🐰 Follow The Black Hare: a cyberpunk-themed RPG adventure with multiple endings.
2. 🥥 KOKO DAO: Proof of impact based on biodiversity and work with local communities
3. 🍃 Regens Unite: Walled commons of trusted collaborators for mutual support and learning
4. 💭 La Dream Machine: Web3 laboratory with a Latin American focus, aiming for diversity and critical perspectives
5. 🚐 Solarpunk Nomads: A project working to spread web3 and regen knowledge by roaming the world with a solarpunk-style solar-powered EV.

*Projects included in roundup #52 are not counted this week!

Votes have now been reset so head over to refidao.com, make an account, and show some support to your favourite projects in the ecosystem this week! 💚

Add your ReFi Project! 👇🏽

Have a project you want to add to our database? Click the button below to submit an application!

The importance of diverse founders in the fight against climate change

In this episode of Brave New Earth, the host, Harry MacKenzie, speaks to Mandy Nyarko MBE, the Founder of Startup Discovery School. Together, they discuss why intersectionality is critical to solving climate change and also touch upon other interesting topics, including launching climate tech accelerators or investing in Africa. 🌍🙌

Listen on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

ReFi Grants Roundtable

We recently hold another ReFi Grants Roundtable session to share current and upcoming Grant Opportunities in the ReFi space. If you missed it, check out the recording below 👇

Other 🔥 podcasts on our radar:

• Aneel Kumar + Sanne van den Dungen | Grameena Vikas Kendram Society 🌏| Planetary Regeneration Podcast #59 with Gregory Landua
• SCINET - How blockchain will “revolutionize the way people do and support science” 🧪| Crypto Altruism #91 with Drew Simon
• Fairtrade Coffee to Conflict Free-Diamonds, How Blockchain Tech is Positive Impacting Supply Chains 🗺️| Brains Byte Back with Sam Brake Guia
• Using Emerging Technologies for social good with Bensons Njuguna 🦾| The Social Impact Journal #3 with Jack Farren

Hong Kong issues $100 million first-ever tokenized green bonds 🧾

Last week, the government of Hong Kong issued 800 million Hong Kong dollars in tokenized green bonds under its Green Bond Programme. These were the first tokenized green bonds in the world issued by a government.

Analysts have noted that the launch of these green bonds represents a crucial step toward the development of sustainable finance globally and signals a growing adoption of blockchain technology in the financial industry. 💪

The SWIFT of carbon credits? 🏦

Thanks to Klima DAO's weekly update, we came across the news about Carbonplace funding. A testament to growing institutional interest in the digital carbon market, 9 of the world's most prominent banks have invested $45 million in the digital credit trading platform, Carbonplace.

Carbonplace connects buyers and sellers of carbon credits through their banks. It will utilize the funds to scale its platform, grow the team, and expand services to other banks and carbon market participants, including registries and marketplaces. This is an excellent thread about what Carbonplace aims to achieve:

Also on our radar this week

• 💸 Vanagon Ventures: A new ReFi fund walking the talk on climate action
• 💚 A greener landscape: The potential of blockchain to transform land protection and management
• 🚀 TRST01 Launches India’s 1st Ever Blockchain-enabled Global ESG Tool – Footprint
• 🚜 Making a difference: The power of AgriTech and blockchain in the fight for the planet’s future
• ♻️ EGYPT: Concrete and Plastiks to use blockchain in plastic management
• 🔎 Green consumers want supply chain transparency via blockchain

Looking Forward 📍

Some of the exciting events coming up soon... Make sure to grab some tickets and support the ReFi regenerative renaissance wherever you are from!

• OnSet 2, Klima DAO 🌳
  (March 7, 2023, 16:00 UTC, Online): The digital carbon market is evolving and offers an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate climate finance globally. Tune in for an engaging discussion about its transformation.

• Metaverse ReFi Week hosted by the Aeternals 🌴
  (February 27-March 5, 2023, Decentraland): Enjoy interactive talks, panels, and workshops designed to help you learn more about #ReFi. You can still also apply to speak! ✨

• MasterMind: Four Online Design Sprints for Imagining and Building a Regenerative Village 🏡
  (March 18-19 & April 1 & 2, 2023, Online): An interactive event that will allow you to imagine a village and provide you with all the tools to create a master plan for your own project over the course of four design sprints.

• Sustainable Blockchain Summit (SBS) virtual hackathon 👨‍💻
  (Ideation phase: February 20-March 5; prototype phase: March 6-April 2; Hackathon finale: April 13,: Hybrid): The event brings together sustainability gurus and developers to build new solutions at the intersection of web3 and the environment. Coding experience is welcome, but not required!

Retrospectives 👀

Highlighted discussions from some of the exciting ReFi events across the globe and through the interwebs. 🕸

• Blockchain: Circle: Regenerative Finance (ReFi) - The technology behind it and its future possibilities ✨
  Hosted by the Zühlke Group, Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, and Riddle&Code, the event gave a great overview of ReFi and its future possibilities to big corporations who are interested in how blockchain technology could provide better infrastructure for the carbon market.

Add your ReFi event! 👇🏽

Got a ReFi, crypto, or climate event coming up and want to have it featured in the newsletter? Add yours to ReFi Spring!

New gigs from the ReFi world! 👇

• 🙌 Developer Advocate (Topl): Remote
• 👨‍💻 Blockchain Developer (Sustainable Economics): Bengaluru
• 💻 Senior Solidity Developer (Toucan Protocol): Remote
• ✍️ Content Writer (Flowcarbon): New York
• 📢 Community Manager (dClimate): Remote

Also, keep an eye out for the ReFi Jobs platform for more future listings.

Here is an awesome newsletter that caught our attention this week:

Top 5 Impact DAO Categories Explained

From climate to network state guide to top Impact DAO categories

Crypto GoodDeepa

CryptoGood by Deepa Chaudhary - Deepa has done a fantastic job reviewing the mission statement of over 70 impact DAOs to categorize them into five groups. Let's take a look at what they are:

• 🚀 Enablers: These are the meta DAOs; they don't directly participate in impact delivery but enable it through training, funding, and infrastructure. Think the Gitcoin and Impact DAO Media.
• 🌱 Climate: From Basin DAO to Kokonut DAO, these projects are engaged in fighting climate change through approaches such as land regeneration.
• ❤️ Social Impact: These are all the DAOs aiming to improve the lives of people across the globe, such as Human DAO or Ukraine DAO.
• 🧬 DeSci: These DAOs are all about scientific research, funding, and innovation. Great examples are Vita DAO and Frontier DAO.
• 🌐 Network State DAOs: The last category (and a newly emerging one) is exploring highly aligned online communities. Some even acquire real-world assets, like City DAO, Cabin DAO, and Kift DAO. More content from ReFi DAO on this topic coming soon 😉

Have a fantastic weekend, friends & we'll see you again next week!

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