"Day after day, month after month, we carved through mountains, laid tracks on deserts, and built bridges over rivers, never knowing when the end would come." - Transcontinental Railroad Worker
“Real estate is the golden spike,” Jeff said, referring to BASIN’s role in the climate finance stack. The golden spike, a 17.6-karat ceremonial final spike, symbolized the 1869 completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad and has since come to represent the joining of disparate efforts to create something greater. The First Transcontinental Railroad took six years to complete.
We’re not building a physical railroad, of course, but we are building the rails of nature finance — the tools and methods to protect and steward natural assets. And honestly? It feels like it’s taking forever.
This year was tough. I usually hold onto an optimistic belief that anything is possible, but 2024 put that view to the test. Low inbound interest. A quiet community. Corporate wavering. Political uncertainty. Crypto in the doldrums. Ideological dogma clouding solutions. Startups folding left and right. Nature and climate finance, especially onchain, seemed to lose its allure—just when it is needed most.
And yet, I remain steadfast. Why? Because I see the tracks we’ve laid and the spikes we’ve set. Despite everything, 2024 was a good year. Here's what we built:
The RealValue of Natural Capital Framework:
We’ve quantified the value of nature in a way that’s simple, clear, and universally understood: dollars. The framework identifies 18 FLOWS (ecosystem services) and 14 STOCKS (ecosystems) of natural capital. Using the Natural Cap Rate, we express the dollar value of annual benefits relative to the cost of the underlying real asset, enabling better prioritization of which natural assets to protect and restore.
Ensurance:
We treat natural assets as critical infrastructure and ensure their protection and stewardship in perpetuity. Ensurance policies safeguard ecosystems from day one, offering a definitive path to permanent protection along with funding for restoration and stewardship.
Ensurance Binder:
A comprehensive record of the real assets considered for or already part of Ensurance, ensuring transparency and accountability in our efforts.
Ecosystem Services / Nature-Related Risks & Dependencies by Industry and Ensurance Funding:
We’ve mapped the connections between industries, their nature-related risks and dependencies, and funding solutions through Ensurance, creating a clear blueprint for aligning economic activity with ecological health.
Certificates of Ensurance:
Nearly 500,000 certificates issued across four chains, each representing a tangible commitment to ecosystem protection and stewardship.
SITUS Protocol Deployment on Base:
Relocated the .basin contract from Polygon to Base as part of a fresh SITUS Protocol deployment. Over 15 onchain groups have been established, with more than 600 members.
Frontend for SITUS Accounts, Assets, and Currency:
Launched ensitus.xyz, providing an intuitive interface for managing SITUS accounts, ensurance assets, and impact currencies.
Launched $ENSURE:
Introduced the nature-based currency with a starting supply of 1 billion, distributed to over 500 investors. The goal is ambitious: to close the $1 trillion annual nature finance gap.
Terroir Terminal AI Agent:
Developed and tested an innovative AI agent to manage and steward assets on behalf of places, ecosystems, and species. All SITUS accounts will soon have the ability to be managed by dedicated AI agents, capable of buying, selling, and trading value on behalf of their namesake.
These are just a few highlights as we reflect on 2024—along with becoming a member of the TNFD Forum, of course.
Special thanks to Holly Grimm, Jim Smoot, PhD, Jeff Stephens, Jan Scheufen, and Will Masters. We’re also deeply grateful for the support of Gitcoin, Arbitrum, Ma Earth, and Celo.
2025
In 2025, our focus is on putting all this into practice: continuing to iterate on the resilience hyperstructure, reducing risk, and recognizing the multiplicity of Value in this beautiful world.
We’ll meet you at the Golden Spike.
