This week's session explores a reimagined approach to Regen Network's tokenomics, proposing a shift from traditional Proof-of-Stake rewards to incentivizing marketplace activity. The discussion centers on directing REGEN emissions toward addresses that demonstrably drive ecological impact through on-chain eco-credit purchases and retirements. Key concepts include point-based reward attribution for buyers and brokers, linking credit retirements to token burns, and creating a regenerative flywheel that aligns network growth with planetary health. This framework aims to strengthen both supply and demand sides of the eco-credit marketplace while ensuring all incentives remain transparent and verifiable on-chain.
Recording & Transcript
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Notes
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Evolving Regen’s Tokenomics: Staking on Marketplace growth
Introduction and Premise
Regen Network Development, PBC (RND) has the supply side of the equation well covered. The network already has the infrastructure and partnerships needed to originate and list high-integrity eco-credits.
But for Regen to fully realize its potential, I believe the next phase must focus on driving eco-credit sales and retirements. For the network, the community, and the token to flourish, both sides of the marketplace — supply and demand — need to thrive together.
This idea centers on that concept. It explores how we could reorient token emissions and staking dynamics around on-chain, verifiable actions that directly grow the marketplace and deepen Regen’s ecological impact.
It’s not a proposal — it’s an idea worth sharing — meant to stimulate thought, discussion, and creativity within the community.
Rethinking Network Incentives
Under the current Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, inflationary rewards primarily flow to validators maintaining consensus. While that ensures security, it doesn’t directly reward the ecosystem’s most valuable activities: buying, selling, and retiring eco-credits.
What if emissions instead flowed to those whose on-chain actions clearly demonstrate regenerative impact?
This reimagined system would keep everything transparent and measurable on-chain, aligning the network’s tokenomics with the regenerative outcomes it exists to produce.
Community Pool as the Source of Emissions
To make this shift without redesigning the blockchain itself, all new REGEN emissions could be directed into the community pool.
The community pool would then distribute rewards to addresses that have earned on-chain points for verifiable contributions — primarily eco-credit purchases and retirements.
These points wouldn’t exist off-chain or depend on subjective measures; they would be created directly by transaction data recorded on the Regen Ledger. This ensures rewards are transparent, fair, and programmatically auditable.
Buyer and Broker Attribution
Every eco-credit purchase or retirement recorded on-chain could automatically generate two sets of points:
Buyer Points: When an address purchases or retires eco-credits, it earns points that represent its direct regenerative contribution. These points determine its share of community pool rewards for that period.
Broker or Platform Points: Each transaction could include a metadata field specifying the platform or broker that facilitated the sale. The smart contract would then automatically attribute a corresponding set of broker points to that address.
This structure recognizes both sides of the regenerative marketplace:
Buyers earn rewards for taking tangible action toward regeneration.
Brokers and platforms earn rewards for facilitating and scaling those actions.
All point generation and attribution happen natively on-chain, with no off-ledger claims or manual submissions.
Linking Eco-Credit Activity to Token Burns
Every eco-credit retirement could also trigger a REGEN token burn, directly linking ecological outcomes to token scarcity.
As more credits are purchased and retired:
More REGEN tokens are burned, reducing total supply.
REGEN becomes increasingly attractive as a store of regenerative value.
The act of regeneration strengthens both planetary and financial health.
This tight coupling between ecological impact and tokenomics forms the backbone of the regenerative flywheel: sales → retirements → burns → increased scarcity → greater demand → more sales.