ReFi: A New Trend in Crypto That Combines Energy, Environment, and Physical Devices

ReFi stands for Regenerative Finance, a new approach that aims to solve global environmental and social problems in the long term by using blockchain technology. ReFi projects connect the crypto world with renewable energy, environmental protection, and physical devices, creating a more sustainable and efficient system.

In this article, we will introduce some of the important ReFi projects, reveal how they use blockchain technology to promote sustainability, and explore their unique market positioning and technical architecture.

Dione: A Layer1 Solution for Renewable Energy Trading

Dione is a project that aims to provide a solution to reduce the entry barriers for the renewable energy industry, enabling consumers to build their own “green energy” business.

To achieve this, the project developed a blockchain-based platform that incentivizes everyone to use green energy, and makes the energy production process and related supply chain more efficient and transparent for the end users, utilities, investors, and regulators.

Dione is a Layer1 solution based on the PoS mechanism, compatible with EVM, and designed to enable renewable energy trading. Its core architecture is based on Avalanche, which allows Dione to have over 5,000 TPS, support scaling more nodes, and store private data under strict access control, ensuring data privacy and security.

Based on this architecture, the project built an energy trading market called Nebra.

Nebra connects energy producers and consumers on a peer-to-peer (P2P) basis. This allows producers to bypass the traditional energy grid and sell their surplus energy directly to consumers. This can bring significant savings for both producers and consumers.

When an energy supplier generates and releases a unit of energy to be consumed, the transaction is done through Nebra, but the actual movement of the unit from the supplier to the consumer’s device is done through the grid.

Additionally, users can also install solar panels (sold by Dione to help grid operators) to receive clean energy from suppliers.

An interesting point is that Dione’s blockchain nodes are connected by Starlink satellites provided by Musk’s SpaceX company, and powered by solar energy, making them able to operate seamlessly in remote and hard-to-reach locations, achieving a truly “green” and “decentralized” blockchain.

Dione’s own blockchain is called Odyssey, which is currently in the testnet stage, but will officially migrate to the mainnet around January 15.

However, as a project that has existed for 2 years, such a mainnet launch progress is not fast, and we can continue to observe the performance and market response after the mainnet launch.

Although its own Layer1 mainnet has not been launched, Dione’s native token $DIONE has been deployed on Ethereum before and will be migrated to the mainnet later, which also affects the economy of DIONE tokens.

According to the token economy white paper, $DIONE will be issued more after the mainnet launch, from the original 10 billion to 124 billion, but at the same time the benefit is that buying and selling $DIONE tokens will no longer be taxed.

The author speculates that the token price may fluctuate due to the change in supply before and after the mainnet launch on the 15th, but this fluctuation is not directly due to the increase in supply (there is a linear release mechanism), but may be due to market speculation.

In addition, users can stake $DIONE tokens to ensure network security, with a staking income of 1% every 30 days, and a maximum of 8% for the entire staking period.

In terms of market price, $DIONE has doubled in price in the past month; and if it is extended to one year, the token price has even increased by 200 times. But in contrast, the current token has a total market value of only 36 million, and with the mainnet launch and more people’s attention to environmental protection, $DIONE may usher in another round of speculation.

Rowan: A New Energy Company with Its Own Layer1

Rowan Energy is a new energy company that also has its own Layer1.

Rowan Energy uses blockchain technology to track the output of residential rooftop solar power generation. This technology provides accurate tracking and data verification, solving the problems existing in the traditional energy market, such as untraceable electricity, opaque transactions, etc.

At the same time, the project adopts a novel consensus mechanism called Proof of Generation (PoG). Unlike the traditional Proof of Work mechanism that consumes a lot of electricity and computing power, in Solareum, the reason why “miners” get rewards is not to consume electricity, but to produce electricity in a renewable way.

Rowan Energy provides a gateway for renewable energy producers (including solar farms, wind farms, tidal power plants, geothermal devices, and even individual rooftop solar panels) to participate as validators. These producers can still produce new energy, but also enhance the security of Rowan Layer1.

PoG technology ensures that the renewable energy generated is verified and confirmed as a legitimate source. It also prevents any single entity or group from having too much control, forming a truly decentralized solution. This method not only makes Rowan Layer1 more environmentally friendly, but also more secure.

The Layer1 records data, but also needs hardware devices to generate and transmit data.

Their hardware device solution is called SmartMiner, which is a device that combines smart meter and blockchain cryptocurrency mining.

From the appearance, SmartMiner is a box the same size as a regular smart meter, which will be installed in the user’s solar panel wiring, and connected to the home WiFi. SmartMiner calculates the power consumption of the appliance while generating cryptocurrency rewards. According to its official document, Rowan Energy will pay 10 pence worth of $RWN for every kilowatt-hour of solar energy generated. These rewards can be converted into cash via PayPal, or sent to the user’s mobile phone compatible Rowan wallet.

When SmartMiner is sold each time, or when fees are generated on its Layer1, Rowan Energy will repurchase a certain proportion of $RWN, supporting the value of the token by giving it value, and encouraging users to use clean energy (solar energy) for a long time.

In terms of token design, $RWN has a total supply of 545 million, of which VC and private rounds account for 150 million. However, it is worth noting that the project stipulates that $RWN tokens in the VC round can only be cashed through OTC, and will never be bought and sold on the exchange.

Currently, the circulating supply of $RWN is 195 million, and the remaining 180 million are used for DePIN mining output.

In terms of market price, $RWN has risen by 200% in the past month, and has also risen by an amazing 20 times in the past year. Its market value of 33 million is also similar to that of $DIONE mentioned above.

Solareum: A Blockchain Solution for Carbon Reduction

Solareum uses blockchain technology to incentivize people to use more green energy to cope with the energy crisis. The Layer1 adopts two innovative consensus mechanisms: Proof of Generation (PoG) and Proof of Holding (PoH).

Among them, PoG, the proof of new energy production, is the core of Solareum. Unlike Bitcoin, which consumes a lot of electricity and computing power for verification, in Solareum, “miners” are rewarded for producing electricity in a renewable way, not for consuming electricity.

Solareum allows renewable energy producers (including solar photovoltaic plants, wind power plants, tidal power plants, geothermal devices, and even single rooftop solar panels) to participate as validators. These producers can still produce new energy, but also enhance the security of Solareum Layer1.

PoG technology ensures that the renewable energy generated is verified and confirmed as a legitimate source. It also prevents any single entity or group from having too much control, forming a truly decentralized solution. This method not only makes Solareum more environmentally friendly, but also more secure.

PoH, on the other hand, is designed to reward those who hold Solareum tokens ($SRM) and meet certain criteria. This unique mechanism allows anyone to easily become a validator, thus contributing to the network’s security and integrity.

The more $SRM you hold, the more you earn, and you also have the opportunity to participate in energy generation, becoming an indispensable part of the Solareum ecosystem. $SRM is also the currency for buying and selling energy on the public energy market set up on Solareum. And, since the market is set up on the blockchain, every transaction and verification process is publicly verifiable, ensuring the integrity of the network.

However, Solareum is still in the testnet stage.

According to the official information, the testnet has been built and running, processing transactions. They also connected two Tesla Powerwalls to the testnet through cooperation, which are connected to important solar devices.

Solareum plans to officially announce the developer program soon, inviting developers to build decentralized applications (DApps) on the testnet, preparing for the public mainnet launch, and the official launch date will be announced when it is close.

In terms of token performance, $SRM has only risen by about 35% in the past month, and the price has not changed much in the past year. At the same time, the token market value is