Howdy Regens!

Scott Morris, (@thetokenjedi) here with your weekly ReFi Roundup. I got my start back in 2009 by organizing a community currency pilot in the wake of the "Great Financial Crisis". I was mighty honored to be in the film Money & Life for that work alongside some real ReFi OG's; folks like John Fullerton, Charles Eisenstein, Riane Eisler, Hazel Henderson, and Bernard Lietaer. These days I offer regenerative economic systems design expertise and a seasoned operator's perspective to teams, funders, and policy makers on what community based systems can do with crypto and what it takes to implement.

In this edition of the Roundup, we talk about the still unfolding banking crisis, the IPCC report, and the usual array of goodies. Lets dive in... 🤿

It's Bank Collapse Season Already?

I haven't even put away my FTX crisis decorations yet...

Too soon? It might feel that way, but then again you don't even really need to be that old to remember the last crisis, the GFC in 2008, or the dot-com bubble. What boomers call a "once in a lifetime" crisis is basically just Tuesday for millennials and younger generations. Many of us have already reached the point of "just throw it on the crisis pile." 🤷‍♂️

Last week we saw an escalation in the latest financial crisis, after the Swiss bank Credit Suisse went down following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US. If you would like to get caught up, check out the video below 👇🏽.  

Economic Diversity > Financial Monoculture 💸

So what's the deal? For all we hear about how risky crypto is, it sure feels like the old system flies into panic mode somewhere at least every 2-3 years. Our dearly departed monetary and economic philosopher, and co-architect of the European Currency Unit (predecessor to the Euro), Bernard Lietaer loved to remind people that we have actually experienced hundreds of financial, banking, and debt crises since the 1970's.

But what are we to do? Return to the gold standard? Hardly. Bernard had a different recommendation, which was to diversify our economical systems so they were in line with the way nature designed ecological systems: as a balance of streamlining for efficiency with diversity and interconnectedness for resilience.

In other words, instead of striving for a hyper-connected, uber-liquid monetary and financial monoculture, what we really need is to create an economic permaculture, one with ample alternatives and redundancies so that when the shocks come (and they will continue to) real people in real communities can rest easier knowing they will still be able to meet local needs with local resources.

Empowering Communities Through Alternative Economics 🫶🏼

It is in these moments of crisis and uncertainty that we gain the sharpest sense of how urgently and how badly these alternatives are needed, especially by those not working with substantial amounts of financial capital.

That's where we come in Regens. ReFi is really but the latest chapter of a long tradition of native, informal, alternative, complementary, feminist, emancipatory, solidarity, and syntropic economics arising to fill the gaps and reprioritize the health and wealth of the planet and her people.

What does that look like? It looks like a full spectrum of monetary and financial mechanisms, and any number of the technologies that provide access and use of the same, working together in service of a post-extractive, pro-regeneration way of being for humanity on the planet.

Over the years, I have drawn deep inspiration from stories I've heard of people overcoming incredibly challenging conditions by rethinking how money works in relationship to what "value" means in their community:

• Stories like that of the Austrian Worgl, where a local mayor issued local notes to stimulate the local economy during the Great Depression which were so effective people reportedly had enough extra cash to start prepaying their taxes.
• Like that of the distributed regional Banco Palmas system in Brazil, whereby local farmers and rural communities gained access to credit systems and other financial services powered by regionally devoted currencies, each with their own local flavour.
• And like those of the more recent introduction of a time-based currency & approach to saving for retirement in Switzerland, where they have already had time to cultivate a famously stable economy in part due to the now 80+ year old WIR bank and its business to business mutual credit system.

Over time, it becomes clear that the tools we're building and the technologies involved matter much less than the relationships rooted in real community and the process by which the community is included in the process of determining what is actually needed based on their specific set of challenges. Each of the above examples provide a glimpse at the power of what's possible when this is done well.

Good luck, and may the Force be with you always. 💪

IPCC Publishes Synthesis Report ☁️

The good news: The world is not completely doomed! There's still a chance to save humanity from a future which can be approximated as a sort of hell on earth type of situation.

The bad news: Their is a "Rapidly closing window of opportunity".

ReFi DAO Local Node Prize 🎉

ReFi DAO, in partnership with Commons Stack, has announced the launch of the Local Node Prize.

The search is on for a startup city in the Global South to join ReFi Lisboa in the Alpha Cohort of the Local Node Incubator. The ultimate aim is to grow a global network of local communities that build the foundations for a next-generation regenerative economy.

If you are representing a city from the Global North, you can still submit an application to express your interest! The official applications for the Global North will be opening later this year.

In order to support this work, ReFi DAO is currently crowdfunding for a Local Node matching pool. We would be incredibly grateful if you could collect the announcement post on Mirror as a historic NFT and support the emergence of key onramps for talent and capital into the regenerative economy!

Regen Network and Toucan: NCT to Regen Ledger bridge 🚀

NCT is a carbon token backed by Verra's carbon credits, tokenized by Toucan Protocol, and now available to bridge between Regen Network and Polygon.

In April, NCT will be available for purchase on Regen Marketplace and it can be redeemed and retired from Osmosis, offering more than just bridging.

A big week for ReFi events! 🎪

Check out some highlights from the awesome array of ReFi events that happened around the globe last week! 👇

Greenpill India!

The enthusiasm surrounding ReFi India's Geenpill Festival requires no further explanation. Amazing locations, great vibes, and productive sessions. Check out some highlights below.

ReFi Lisboa Emergence!

ReFi Lisboa's second event saw some big progress in the collaborative journey towards a network state to regenerate the earth, including the first use of the ReFi Local Node Canvas.

ReFi @ Paris Blockchain week --> #ReFiParis is born! 🌱

Supported by ReFi DAO and Celo, ReFi had an energetic side event to Paris Blockchain week.. From Café Philosophique discussions to ReFi Fundamentals & Tokenomics, an exciting community of French Regens came together. ReFi Paris is a go ✨

Emilia and Monty also hosted the first ReFi DAO network mapping session, starting the foundation for building key intelligence on local actors, projects and institutions for regeneration. Check out the Alpha dashboard and apply to join 👇

Also on our radar this week

• 🤟 Center for Economic Democracy launches free Economics for Emancipation course
• 🦓 Zebras Unite - a member-owned movement creating the culture, capital & community for the next economy - outlines their vision for 2023 and how to create a self-reflective working culture that doesn't suck (the life out of you).
• 🙌 LOA Labs shares their Better World Blockchain Climate Thesis - 9 bold solutions and notable projects for Web3 enabled climate action.
• 🐧 Toucan Protocol released an excellent article on 'What is Regenerative Finance (ReFi)?' - one to share with friends and fam!

Submit content idea or feedback 👇🏽

Want to see a story featured in next weeks Roundup? Or have any feedback?
We love hearing from you!

Top 5 most-voted projects of the week at refidao.com:

Top 5 most voted projects of the week:

1. 🛞 Wheel Coin: a Move2Earn app seeking to accelerate the adoption of green, low carbon mobility.
2. ✳️ Hazel: an app bringing the public to the carbon-removal market and fight climate change with NFTs and game mechanics.
3. 🪸 Coral Tribe: a platform for impact investing, tokenising shares and decentralising crowdlending.
4. 🌱 SEEDS: tools to help people, businesses and movement regenerate our planet and encourage collaboration, cooperation and community building.
5. 🟩 Cyber Box: an NFT Marketplace that helps people and companies to be carbon neutral.

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!

Using Web3 to build for a regenerative future

Samuel Delesque of OASA joins Drew Simon in the latest Crypto Altruism podcast to discuss the use of Web3 tools like DAOs in community-driven conservation and regeneration projects, as well as the potential of regenerative finance for building a more sustainable and equitable world.

Other 🔥 Podcasts on our Radar:

• Crushing rocks to reverse climate change! - ft Peter Olivier of Undocarbon - This Week In ReFi ep. 30
• Ep. 34 Carbon: The Missing Link to Unlocking Value from Nature w. Open Forest Protocol (OFP) - Wild User Interviews Podcast (Wuipod) ep. 30

Explore ReFi Events at ReFiDAO.com 👇🏽

Here are some highlighted upcoming events that caught our eye this week. Make sure to grab some tickets and support the ReFi renaissance wherever you are! 👇

ReFi is coming to Hong Kong!

(April 12-15th): with Hong Kong opening it's doors to crypto, the inaugural Web3 Festival look set to make a big splash. This four-day event is expected to see over 10,000 attendees! Alongside Arkreen Network, ReFi DAO is helping to co-organise and support a ReFi side event. Grab your tickets now, or if you wish to speak at this event, please reach out to Monty.

Blockchain Climate Summit ReFi House

(April 27-29, Austin TX): Flowcarbon & Celo will host another ReFi centric event at the Consensus 2023.

Liberating Structures Learning Journey Masterclass

(April 21st, Virtual): Wise Crowds from Regen Unite is organizing a training event for event organizers.

The Turn: Tend Spring

(April 22nd, Virtual): A digital earth day celebration of small groups in many places, doing small acts of regeneration at the same time.

Collaborative Finance

May 22nd -28th, Austria :Calling all Monetary theorists, Fintech disruptor, DeFi activists, Trade exchanges, and fellow regens to brainstorm and find new ways to redesign a collaborative monetary system.

Add your ReFi event! 👇🏽

Got a ReFi, crypto, or climate event coming up and what to have it featured in the website & newsletter? Add yours to the database!

Here are some of the awesome newsletters that caught our attention this week:

Venturing in ReFi by AERA FORCE

Venturing in ReFi with the latest investment ReFi investment update.

Psst... they will be investing in 1 or 2 more ReFi ventures in the next months. If you're building in the intersection of Web3 & climate, reach out to Alex here.

Thanks for joining us on the journey, dear brothers and sisters in ReFi. Drink plenty of water, get plenty of rest, and do something nice for yourself today!

-- Scott & the ReFiDAO fam

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