In our first Localism Highlight conversation, the Token Engineering Commons had the privilege of speaking with Wasabi, co-founder of the Kokonut Network, a groundbreaking initiative using Web3 tools to bring regenerative agriculture and economic sovereignty to underserved communities. The talk was rich, layered, and deeply grounded—literally. It showed how blockchain isn’t just for high-speed finance or digital art, but can be used to build better systems from the soil up.

In the world of blockchain, we often hear that code is law, trust is minimized, and incentives reign supreme. But what if the most powerful force in decentralized communities isn’t technical at all? In the opening talk of the TEC Research Hub series, social scientist Josey Beets shared research that flips conventional wisdom on its head. Her core message: it’s not incentives that keep people coming back—it’s identity and social connection.From Primates to Protocols: Why Identity MattersJosey ...