Episode 213 - CARBON Copy - The State of ReFi in 2025: Trends, Challenges, and What’s Next for Web3 Regenerative Finance

Crypto Altruists: Real-World Stories of Social & Environmental Impact with Web3

For episode 213, we welcome Kent Babin, Co-Founder of CARBON Copy, a research and insights platform tracking the pulse of the ReFi movement, from impact data to capital flows to the emerging narratives shaping Web3's regenerative finance movement.

In this episode, we dive into the newly released 2025 State of ReFi Report, which offers one of the most comprehensive snapshots to date of where the regenerative finance ecosystem stands, and where it’s headed.

Whether you’re already building in ReFi or exploring how Web3 can support your climate and social impact goals, this episode is packed with actionable insights and emerging opportunities.

You’ll learn:

• 🌱 What the biggest wins and hardest lessons were for Regenerative Finance over the past year, and why 2025 could be a defining year for the movement.
• 🌍 Why movements like Ethereum Localism, Bioregional Finance, and ergodic ecosystem investing are gaining traction, and how they aim to relocalize capital for planetary regeneration.
• 🧭 How to navigate the funding trilemma, find your niche as a ReFi builder, and seize the opportunities emerging across climate DePINs, impact RWAs, and more.

--Key Takeaways--

🌱 ReFi is gaining real traction: From the first-ever issuance of native onchain regenerative credits, to Glow's $30M seed round, to Octant’s climate funding round, 2024 delivered major milestones that signal real momentum for the ReFi movement.

⚠️ But challenges remain for ReFi to reach its potential: The ReFi space continues to wrestle with funding scarcity, lingering reputational concerns, and the struggle to move beyond hype. Convincing people to buy ecological credits, let alone understand them, is still an uphill battle.

🔗 Blockchain isn’t the whole solution, just the rails: Regenerative Finance works best when Web3 is paired with real-world tech like AI and IoT devices. Think of crypto as the coordination layer, enabling verification, payments, and trust across emerging climate tech stacks.

--Full shownotes with links available at--
https://www.cryptoaltruists.com/blog/crypto-altruists-episode-213-carbon-copy-the-state-of-refi-in-2025-trends-challenges-and-whats-next-for-regenerative-finance

Thank you to PIPE gDAO for sponsoring the Crypto Altruism podcast!

PIPE gDAO is leveraging blockchain for their University Real World Asset IP Launchpad that helps bring groundbreaking ideas from lab to market.

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--DISCLAIMER--
While we may discuss specific web3 projects or cryptocurrencies on this podcast, do not take any of this as investment advice and make sure to do your own research on potential investment opportunities, or any opportunity, before making an investment. We host a variety of guests on this podcast with the sole purpose of highlighting the social impact use cases of this technology. That being said, Crypto Altruism does not endorse any of these projects, and we recognize that, since this is an emerging sector, some may be operating in regulatory grey areas, and as such, we cannot confirm their legality in the jurisdictions in which they operate, especially as it pertains to decentralized finance protocols. So, before getting involved with any project, it’s important that you do your own research and confirm the legality of the project. More info at cryptoaltruists.com/disclaimer