Blockchain tech is becoming the new paradigm, no doubt about it. It’s the very foundation of Web3 and is changing the way we use the internet altogether. And while most projects focus on DeFi and disrupting finances, there are some exceptions to the rule.
Genuine projects that use decentralization to empower their users to advocate social good may be far and in between. That said, some interesting initiatives have been making their appearance lately.
In this Earth Fund DAO review, we analyze this project that brings crowdfunding for the greater good directly on the blockchain. To provide you with a good overview of this DAO, we take a look at the goals and token economics of its cryptocurrency.
In the end, you will be able to form an opinion on this upcoming crowdfunding platform and whether it’s worth your time (and money). Let’s begin with a bit of background first – what is Earth Fund DAO and how does it work?
What Is Earth Fund DAO?
As the number of cryptocurrency holders is increasing exponentially, a genuine demand for decentralized donation platforms is rising. People that wish to make a change require decentralized alternatives for the convoluted charity system controlled by governments and billionaires.
Moreover, the undeniable remains that our planet is in dire need of saving. Governments are slacking to take a stand against climate change and people don’t have the power to make a difference. If you are an individual that wishes to contribute to earth-saving causes, you will quickly find yourself jumping through hoops. There are so many red tape barriers in this process, that many give up before even getting started.
Consequently, in September 2021, a team of investors, entrepreneurs, and blockchain veterans, spearheaded by Adam Boalt, created Earth Fund DAO. The goal is to provide humanity with a transparent and accessible donation platform covering a wide array of causes.
In a nutshell, Earth Fund wants to do away with centralized charities that focus on unsubstantial projects which are chosen by an elite few. By decentralizing the platform, it allows all participants to have a meaningful impact on its organization and funding. And all of this without a complicated system requiring any advanced knowledge in blockchain or cryptocurrencies.
But how does all of this work?
How Will the Earth Fund DAO Work?
The basics of the Earth Fund functioning are quite simple. The platform uses blockchain technology to provide a transparent system for donations. Here, everyone can contribute to a project that is close to their heart. What’s more, users will be able to track exactly how and where the protocol attributes their funds. The immutable ledger tracks projects and donations and offers full transparency of the entire process.
At first, the platform will provide five main greater good categories, including:
- Carbon removal, where projects like Oco Crew and Toucan Protocol might find their public.
- Green-tech, which will include including green energy, sustainable power projects, lab-grown meat, etc.
- Social inequality issues, which will focus on funding projects that aim to make the world a fairer place to live.
- Conservation of ecosystems, where projects like Diatom DAO can get the support they deserve.
- Disease and public health, which will focus on providing funds for a better global healthcare.
The primary goal of the Earth Fund DAO is to build a solid community. As such, the DAO will allow anyone to add new causes to its system and vote on project proposals that really matter to the community. To achieve this, Earth Fund has created its proprietary ERC-20 token, 1Earth. On that note, let’s have a closer look at the token economics of the project.
Earth Fund DAO Economics – The 1Earth Token
As we mentioned, Earth Fund relies on the 1Earth token to empower the users of the DAO. This ERC-20 cryptocurrency that runs on Ethereum is the main instrument for governing the DAO itself. Users will be able to stake it on the network and receive governance tokens. Then, they will be able to use these tokens for voting on decisions within the organization.
1Earth was launched with a supply of 1 billion, with an initial circulating supply of 34 million tokens sold through various mechanisms (crowd sale, private sale). 15% of the supply was granted to the team, with a lockup period of 1 year, to avoid any team-related dumping on the market.
Moreover, the team locked 200.000 1Earth in liquidity pools (LP) to help reduce the volatility of the token in the first 12 months after release. The LP rewards go to the DAO treasury, which the Earth Fund Foundation will directly use to subsidize one of the earth-saving causes proposed by the community.
To participate in the DAO, the process is as simple as it gets. Users can buy 1Earth tokens on the open market and stake them on the Earth Fund protocol. They will then receive governance tokens $Gov1Earth which allow them to vote on various DAO decisions.
Additionally, by staking their tokens, the protocol will reward participants with extra tokens, as long as their funds remain on the platform. This incentivizes individuals and organizations to provide liquidity to the platform and keep control of the DAO.
Worth noting is that, while the DAO relies mainly on 1Earth tokens for its governance, users will be able to donate using any cryptocurrency. The treasury will have multiple wallets available so that users don’t have to go through complicated and costly token swaps before they donate.
What is the Earth Fund Treasury?
Technically speaking, Earth Fund is a for-profit organization. Every time you donate, a 5% fee will be used to fund the project in the following manner:
- 2% goes to the team for further development and improvement of the protocol.
- 2% is for rewards for the staking community that locks up their 1Earth tokens.
- 1% will directly go into the Earth Fund Foundation treasury.
This treasury is an important element of the Earth fund DAO, as the community will later decide what they want to do with it. Through proposals, users can decide to grant a portion of these funds to various causes, use them for marketing goals, create green NFTs to get access to even more funding, etc.
The DAO’s organization will be divided into the main Earth Fund DAO that will control the basic operations of the platform, and smaller, cause-specific communities. These communities will be able to distribute funding from the treasury to specific projects that are under their management. This will allow individuals to join specific communities that they are familiar with and contribute where their opinion really matters.
Does it Work?
The Earth Fund DAO is still making its baby steps at the time of writing (December 2021). The donation platform hasn’t gone live just yet, and the treasury and tokens remain in full control of the founding team. While users can already purchase 1Earth on exchanges like Kucoin, staking hasn’t been enabled yet is still undergoing a testing phase.
Staking should be available before the end of 2021, which will be the first step to creating governance tokens and giving power to the DAO itself. For the first year, the founding team will keep control of the project in its entirety. They will manage the donations categories as well as the selection of projects that get funded through the treasury.
After this testing period of 50 weeks, the DAO will be completely unleashed. The users will finally be able to use their $Gov1Earth to vote on further development, treasury allocation, and cause category additions.
Nevertheless, during this trial period (so to speak) the treasury has already successfully funded the Oco Crew community. This non-profit focuses on projects such as rainforest conservation and regenerative agriculture to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The donation from Earth Fund has managed to contribute to the removal of 1.7 million lbs of CO2, a commendable effort for such a new project.
What’s Next?
The next major steps of the project are:
- Launching the donations platform where users will be able to start contributing to their preferred causes.
- Enabling the staking of 1Earth tokens and start receiving rewards for their contribution.
- Releasing the DAO and transferring the founding team’s power into the hands of the users themselves.
That’s a lot of promises that the team is expected to fulfill, in less than 1 year. The individuals involved in the project, however, give us high hopes that Earth Fund will come to fruition in the immediate future.
Conclusion
Earth Fund DAO understands the global need for a decentralized donation platform. They have created a protocol where individuals can track their donations and decide exactly where their money goes. While many crypto donations platforms already exist, they are mostly centralized and depend on a single governing body to function.
Earth Fund tries to remedy this by incentivizing people in participating in the DAO by rewarding them accordingly. Donations become investments and allow you to track specific sustainability projects that you are particularly fond of.
It’s true that the project is still very young and may encounter some challenges ahead. However, interest in the initial public sale gives us hope. Additionally, the team behind the project is filled with capable individuals that should allow this project to grow and reach its completion.