ReFi has emerged as an ecological
movement and alternative financial
system to accelerate the transition from
an extractive to a regenerative economy.
By integrating advanced technologies like
blockchain with regenerative principles,
ReFi seeks to create transparent and
inclusive NbS, from agroforestry to
wildlife restoration. A core principle of
ReFi is to promote holistic approaches
that address multiple impact dimensions
beyond carbon offsetting, including
biodiversity protection and community
development. To achieve this, ReFi
practitioners emphasise decentralised,
bottom-up approaches that ensure
equitable economic and social benefits
for all stakeholders involved in climate
resilience efforts. Despite these
ambitious objectives and emerging global
attention on ReFi, a significant research
gap remains regarding its effectiveness,
particularly in biodiversity-rich countries
with large rural and Indigenous
populations, such as Colombia. This study
addresses this gap by comparing ReFi’s
theoretical propositions, established
through a literature review, with
empirical evidence from a comparative
case study of six ReFi initiatives
operating in Colombia. The data obtained
from semi-structured interviews with
founders and practitioners provides valuable insights into the movement’s
current state, significant challenges, and
opportunities to progress. The research
reveals that while ReFi has
transformative potential for creating
participatory solutions for planetary
regeneration, it remains in its infancy
and faces structural implementation and
scalability barriers. These challenges are
primarily linked to negative perceptions
of cryptocurrency and Web3, the
dominance of traditional carbon market
entities, and difficulties in translating
regenerative principles and technologies
into actionable, grassroots solutions that
communities can widely adopt.
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