I recently had the chance to chat with Christian Chegne and Avery Schwartz, co-founders of Coral Tribe NFT and ReFi Hub, two ventures at the intersection of blockchain and sustainability. Their mission? Use blockchain technology to drive real-world environmental impact through regenerative finance (ReFi). In simple terms, they’re showing how you can make money while saving the planet.
Coral Tribe NFT is a blockchain project focused on environmental regeneration, particularly coral reef restoration. The project began as an art initiative that raised over $1 million through NFT sales, with a significant portion funding coral planting efforts in areas like Indonesia and Spain. Coral Tribe combines art, community, and impact by directing resources to projects that rebuild vital marine ecosystems.
A key feature is the community fund, where 50% of NFT sale revenue is invested in businesses that deliver both environmental impact and financial returns. By blending sustainability with business, Coral Tribe seeks to create a regenerative economy, using blockchain to drive real-world change.
ReFi Hub, on the other hand, is a marketplace for sustainable investments. It's designed to make real-world assets, like loans or equity in eco-friendly businesses, accessible to a global audience. ReFi Hub aims to democratize access to financial markets, especially for small businesses in developing economies, where access to capital can be tough. By tokenizing these assets, they allow investors to buy smaller portions, making it easier for anyone to participate.
Both Christian and Avery come from diverse backgrounds—Christian in design and art, and Avery in conservation. Their passion for the environment, combined with a keen interest in the possibilities of blockchain, led them to create these projects. Christian shared how his early experiments in digital art and NFTs opened his eyes to the potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain, while Avery’s conservation work pushed her to find faster, more impactful solutions beyond traditional environmental studies.
Avery on Merging Profitability and Sustainability:
“There's often a false choice between choosing sustainability and choosing profitability. We’re trying to dispel that through both of our products.”
One of the key challenges they faced was the technical complexity of building on blockchain. Since neither Christian nor Avery had a technical development background, they had to invest heavily in finding the right development team. Their advice? Don’t skimp on development resources—this is an area where you need trust and expertise. By working with trusted developers and agencies on a milestone basis, they were able to manage their budget and ensure progress without compromising quality.
Regenerative finance is about more than just making money; it’s about creating a financial system that assigns value to protecting the earth. By integrating blockchain, ReFi Hub is able to tokenize real-world assets, allowing for more transparency, accessibility, and liquidity in investments. This model enables fractional ownership, meaning people can invest in small portions of assets they might not otherwise have access to, like sustainable businesses in emerging markets.
Christian on Tokenization:
“Tokenization of real-world assets increases accessibility. People can buy in much smaller portions than they usually could. It's all on the blockchain, and it creates transparency, liquidity, and a new way to trade and invest in impactful assets.”
One of the biggest hurdles for blockchain projects like Coral Tribe and ReFi Hub is overcoming the public’s fear of crypto. The founders are well aware of the skepticism surrounding blockchain, especially given the number of scams in the space. However, they believe that with proper education and transparent platforms, blockchain can become a trusted tool for driving sustainability.
While blockchain and regenerative finance still face challenges, the future looks promising. As Christian noted, “We’re making incredible strides in both regenerative finance and real-world asset tokenization. Industry leaders like Larry Fink of BlackRock believe that, within our lifetime, everything will be tokenized.” This recognition highlights the growing momentum behind blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize both finance and sustainability.
Christian on Regenerative Finance:
“Regenerative finance can be applied to a million things. This is one of them, but you might see it across ecosystem restoration, carbon credits, loans to businesses, equity, et cetera.”
02:35 From Art to Ecosystem: The Story Behind Coral Tribe NFT
04:05 ReFi Hub: The Future of Sustainable Investment Platforms
07:24 Beyond Profit: The Rise of Regenerative Finance
09:31 Tokenizing the Planet: How Real-World Assets Go Digital
11:24 Inside ReFi Hub: How It’s Shaping the Future of Finance
14:51 Picking the Right Partners: How ReFi Hub Chooses Businesses
17:23 Christian’s Leap into Blockchain: From Creative to Crypto
25:40 Avery’s Evolution: From Conservation to ReFi Visionary
30:18 Building ReFi Hub: The Blueprint for Blockchain Success
30:59 Breaking Into Web3: Your Guide to Getting Started
33:10 The Power of the Right Dev Team: Why It’s Non-Negotiable
35:17 Show Me the Money: The Business Model Behind ReFi Hub
37:08 Lessons from the Frontlines: Web3 Challenges and Wins
41:01 Behind the Scenes: How the ReFi Hub Team Operates
44:28 Growing the Tribe: ReFi Hub’s Marketing and Community Strategy
48:48 The Road Ahead: How ReFi and Blockchain Will Transform the Future
55:14 Jumping into Web3? Here’s the Top Advice from the Founders
Where to find Christian and Avery:
Where to find Michel:
