On the Wisdom of Converting Degens

One of the founding tenets of ReFi is the notion that degens - the yield-chasing, airdrop-hunting, memecoin-trading crypto natives that form crypto's largest demographic - are the most logical source of funding.

On the surface, the logic appears sound. Degens are crypto fluent and hold serious on-chain wealth; ReFi projects require crypto fluency and need users with on-chain capital. A veritable match made in heaven.

If only it were that simple.

The problem is there's a big assumption being made that tends to get overlooked. It's that degens are lining up to do what's best for the environment and society but are simply lacking the services that let them do it. Ergo, if ReFi projects were to create those services, they'd be doing degens a favour. The money would start flowing and we wouldn't be writing this newsletter.

Alas, this has been a course-altering assumption. Project after project has implemented features they assume will attract degen money, only to realise that no ReFi yield will ever match what's available in DeFi. (On a side note, if we're out here trying to maximise yield, we're doing it wrong.)

There was even an attempt last year to launch a token with similar mechanics to the $DEGEN token popular on decentralised social media network Farcaster. Despite much hype, the token hasn't yet been launched. And while the project remains a going concern, as per its founder, it has taken nearly a year of work to design something that doesn't rely exclusively on degens for success.

The assumption has also shifted focus away from usability and accessibility. When projects optimise for degens, they take the single-most important step for granted: onboarding. It's something that has plagued all of Web3, but is particularly poignant for ReFi because of its off-chain impact. If projects are going to operate in both worlds, onboarding should be at the top of the list of priorities.

Not that there is an obvious alternative segment, at least not for all types of projects. Some are clearer than others. Projects offering retail investment instruments, for example, can take inspiration from companies like RealT who have found a market for investments paying 6-12% per annum.

What we do know is that crypto fluency and wealth shouldn't be the first prerequisites projects optimise for. Taking a more inclusive approach to target segmentation will ultimately result in better services accessible to more people. It wouldn't surprise us if the people out there most likely to be a source of funding for ReFi don't actually know it yet.

Tereza Bizkova Interviews Ethereum's Devansh Mehta for HackerNoon

Our friend and frequent CARBON Copy contributor, Tereza, talks funding open-source software with the Ethereum Foundation’s AI x Public Goods Governance Lead.

Here's a short preview:

Is this what you’re trying to achieve with deep funding, the model you’re working on?
Yes! The core problem deep funding addresses is how to fund projects that create value without generating revenue. In a corporate setting, you have cost centers and profit centers. Twitter’s ad team is a profit center—it makes money and is easy to measure. But something like Community Notes is a cost center. It improves the product for everyone, but it doesn’t directly generate revenue.
Still, executives can allocate budget to it from the ad team, even if that team objects. But that kind of internal reallocation doesn’t exist in open source. Companies like Google earn revenue from user-facing services but rely on a stack of open source repos that go unfunded. There’s no automatic way to redirect revenue from profit to cost centers.
Deep funding is one way to fix that. It creates a dependency graph—basically, a map of which projects rely on which open source repos. Then, when revenue comes in, it’s distributed across the graph through smart contracts.

Read the full interview 👇

You Built It. Now Get Paid. Ethereum's Devansh Mehta on Fixing Open Source Funding | HackerNoon

Discover how Ethereum's Devansh Mehta is rethinking open-source funding using AI, blockchain, and deep funding models-no grant applications required.

https://hackernoon.com

You Built It. Now Get Paid. Ethereum's Devansh Mehta on Fixing Open Source Funding | HackerNoon

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We've been accepted into 2 fundraising rounds for GG23!

Dapps and Apps

Proceeds from this round will go to connecting more sources to our ReFi Impact Dashboard and publishing an Web3 tooling educational series in partnership with the GreenPill Writers Guild!

Regen Coordination Global

This round will help us pursue collaboration opportunities with great orgs such as @refidao @greenpillnetwork @maearth and others! We have some exciting things planned including Local ReFi Toolkit Playbooks and an ergodic ecosystem investment pilot!

With quadratic funding, even a $1 contribution can go a long way.

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Our account was suspended last July and we haven't been able to create a new one until now.

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From our Impact Dashboard:

On Tap at CARBON Copy

Next Edition: Incentive distribution for ReFi projects

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Visit us at to get more news, analysis, and data from the Web3 regenerative finance (ReFi) space.

Leading ReFi Information Platform | CARBON Copy

The preeminent source of ReFi news, information, and analysis.

https://carboncopy.news

Leading ReFi Information Platform | CARBON Copy

You'll also find our curated ReFi projects database and other ecosystem goodies.

If only it were that simple.

Tereza Bizkova Interviews Ethereum's Devansh Mehta for HackerNoon

Our friend and frequent CARBON Copy contributor, Tereza, talks funding open-source software with the Ethereum Foundation’s AI x Public Goods Governance Lead.

Here's a short preview:

Is this what you’re trying to achieve with deep funding, the model you’re working on?
Yes! The core problem deep funding addresses is how to fund projects that create value without generating revenue. In a corporate setting, you have cost centers and profit centers. Twitter’s ad team is a profit center—it makes money and is easy to measure. But something like Community Notes is a cost center. It improves the product for everyone, but it doesn’t directly generate revenue.
Still, executives can allocate budget to it from the ad team, even if that team objects. But that kind of internal reallocation doesn’t exist in open source. Companies like Google earn revenue from user-facing services but rely on a stack of open source repos that go unfunded. There’s no automatic way to redirect revenue from profit to cost centers.
Deep funding is one way to fix that. It creates a dependency graph—basically, a map of which projects rely on which open source repos. Then, when revenue comes in, it’s distributed across the graph through smart contracts.

Read the full interview 👇