A Tokenized Cooperative Model for Regenerative Economy in the Bioregional Development

🎯 Research Objectives

1. Design and validate a cooperative banking model (RegenCoopBank) that supports regenerative economies through token-based governance and lending.
2. Evaluate the feasibility of co-matching $REGEN tokens with fiat-stable assets (e.g. Gitcoin USDC rounds).
3. Analyze the potential of cooperative Web3 finance in reducing token sell pressure while boosting ecological and social impact.
4. Propose governance and incentive mechanisms to coordinate stakeholder investment across Regen Foundation, validators, impact investors, and csDAOs.

🧱 Research Questions

• How can cooperative banking structures be implemented on-chain to support regenerative finance?
• What governance and tokenomics mechanisms can reduce sell pressure and increase local usage of $REGEN?
• What stakeholder incentives align around shared regenerative returns (financial + ecological)?
• What metrics best measure the ecological and economic health of such a system?

📊 Methodology

Stakeholder Interviews and Surveys

• Regen Foundation
• Validators
• csDAOs
• Impact investors
• Web3 cooperative finance projects

Case Study Analysis

• GreenPill Rio & Sarafu voucher economy as baseline
• ReFi Barcelona case
• csDAOs in Regen Foundation’s investment history (Cohort 1 & 2)
• Traditional and ReFi cooperative banking models (Grameen, Coop57, EthicHub, Celo Credit Collective)

Tokenomics Simulation

• Co-matching model: $25k USDC (Gitcoin) + up to $75k $REGEN
• Forecast impact on liquidity, price volatility, and staking retention
• Monte Carlo simulations or sensitivity testing for fund flow behavior

Governance Design Experiments

• DAO-based treasury with quadratic matching + milestone unlocks
• Participatory governance with token-weighted & 1-person-1-vote blend
• Risk-sharing via staking pools or regen “underwriting circles”

🧩 Proposed Sections (IMRAD + Policy Relevance)

Introduction

• Overview of regenerative finance and tokenomics gaps
• The Regen ecosystem and need for credit infrastructure
• Cooperative banking as a culturally and economically regenerative solution

Materials & Methods

• Stakeholder typologies (based on your taxonomy)
• Data sources: Regen analytics, Gitcoin round flows, Hylo governance data
• Token modeling tools and governance simulation protocols

Results

• Projected impact of $75k co-matching on usage, staking, and project liquidity
• Survey results on investment intent, governance preferences, token usage
• Emergent patterns in stakeholder alignment and risk appetite

Discussion

• Challenges of token value retention in credit issuance
• Role of cooperative governance in mitigating exit risk
• Value of hybrid liquidity pools (fiat/token) and voucher systems
• Scalability and generalizability to other bioregions (Africa, LatAm, Ukraine)

Conclusion

• RegenCoopBank as a governance-finance bridge
• Co-creation models between foundations, DAOs, and local stakeholders
• Next steps for implementation and future research

🔁 SDG Relevance Mapping (for Journal Alignment)

💸 Intended Fundraising Outcomes

• Raise $75k in $REGEN from stakeholders:
• Regen Foundation (cohort model)
• Treasury DAO (tokenomics WG)
• Strategic partners (e.g. Biome Trust, Ripple, Celo)
• Launch RegenCoopBank pilot with:
• 3 local projects (Rio, East Africa, Ukraine)
• 2 validators
• 1 institutional LP
• Test “voucher + $REGEN + fiat” liquidity loop for 3–6 months