single.earth Raises $7.9M to Tokenize Carbon Credits with Crypto

Rethinking Carbon and Biodiversity Credits with Tokenization

A novel concept proposes linking carbon and biodiversity credits not to the sale of raw materials like forests – sources of CO2 – but to crypto tokens. This approach aims to incentivize keeping these CO2-producing resources undisturbed.

Single.Earth's Seed Funding and Vision

This idea underpins Single.Earth, a company that recently secured $7.9 million in seed funding. The investment round was spearheaded by EQT Ventures, a Swedish venture capital firm, with participation from Icebreaker and the founders of Pipedrive, Ragnar Sass and Martin Henk.

The funding will facilitate the launch of Single.Earth’s marketplace for nature-backed MERIT tokens. The company’s goal is to ‘tokenize nature’, creating a new financial system centered around these tokens.

Market Potential and the MERIT Token

Single.Earth’s strategy is based on the significant growth potential of both the carbon credit market – projected to exceed $50 billion by 2030 – and the cryptocurrency market, which surpassed a $2 trillion market capitalization in 2021.

The company intends to develop a ‘digital twin’ of nature. This will quantify the CO2 absorption and biodiversity retention capabilities of ecologically significant areas globally.

How the System Works

Utilizing environmental data, including satellite imagery, Single.Earth aims to construct global carbon models. These models will serve as the foundation for its token marketplace.

The system will generate profits through carbon compensations, effectively ‘mining’ new MERIT tokens for every 100 kg of CO2 sequestered within a designated forest or biodiverse region.

MERIT tokens can then be utilized for trading, offsetting CO2 footprints, or contributing to broader climate objectives. Once ‘used’ for compensation, the tokens are retired and cannot be re-traded.

Benefits and Accessibility

Companies, organizations, and eventually individuals will have the ability to purchase these tokens. This allows them to own fractional shares of natural resources and receive corresponding carbon and biodiversity offsets.

The blockchain technology’s inherent traceability ensures swift and direct payments to landowners.

Company Background and Leadership

Single.Earth was established in 2019 by Merit Valdsalu, serving as CEO, and Andrus Aaslaid, the company’s CTO.

Valdsalu emphasized that “Nature conservation is scalable, accessible, and makes sense financially; what’s more, it’s vital to engineer a systematic change.”

Investor Perspective

Sandra Malmberg, Venture Lead at EQT Ventures, stated: “Oil was the new gold, data the new oil; now, nature is now the most precious and valuable resource of all. A company having a hectare of forest saved as a key metric to scale is a company we are thrilled to back.”

Malmberg further added that disrupting financial markets with a new, liquid, and tradable asset class that positively impacts the environment represents a compelling investment opportunity.