The possibilities being explored by the latest crop of fintech startups are staggering, with the way people consume or do business being radically transformed with each new technological breakthrough.
But for Tom Duncan, fintech’s use of innovations like blockchain and AI have a much greater potential that hasn’t been fully recognized: the ability to reclaim agricultural land from the ravages of climate change. That’s why he launched digital green banking investment platform Earthbanc, a company with a unique business model that has already seen remarkable results.
“We're the first fintech blockchain platform where you can deposit your carbon into a bank-like vault,” said Duncan. “Farmers register on the Earthbanc platform, and we measure the carbon sequestration in the landscape of that farmer.” Through Earthbanc’s blockchain-based tech, he claims, it may be possible to sequester the entirety of Earth’s carbon emissions every year.
As Duncan explains, Earthbanc is designed to make up for the poor enforcement of current international carbon credit programs, which tend to be ineffectual at incentivizing companies to limit their carbon emissions. The result is what he calls the first step in a “regenerative finance revolution”: a movement in which private financial institutions can lead the way in restoring the world’s ecology.
