First MERIT tokens sold: a revolutionary shift in sustainability for everyone

MERIT is the world’s first nature-backed currency. 

Each token represents and protects the 'work nature does' (called ecosystem services) to keep the planet habitable. It is designed to save the world from climate change and biodiversity loss.  MERIT incentivizes landowners to preserve their forests as it provides an alternative and regular income source.

However, MERIT is not a charity or a carbon offsetting scheme. It’s a new financial system that aims to put nature at the center of the economy, our daily transactions, everything really. Our mission is to make nature protection easy, accessible, and financially logical for everyone: landowners, business contributors, and individual token buyers.

On September 1, after nearly two years of research, development, and partnering with landowners, we celebrated a significant milestone – the opening of early access sales. Invitation to buy MERIT before the public is a thank-you for people on the waitlist: early supporters who believe in Single.Earth and a greener tomorrow.

“This is one the biggest days in Single.Earth’s history and something we’ve been working on for a long time! People who buy MERIT tokens will make an actual impact on nature and protect it from being destroyed,” cheerfully toasted Merit Valdsalu, Single.Earth’s CEO and co-founder.

Why is this so important?

Humans depend on a healthy planet. On a global scale, human activities have directly modified 77% of land surface and 87% of oceans, resulting in 30% of global land area degradation, directly affecting three billion people. Land-use change and (over)exploitation of natural resources have been the primary drivers of ecosystem collapse over the past 50 years.

Stating the obvious, climate change and biodiversity loss are humankind's most significant challenges today. It can be quite painful to admit, but we've already crossed the safe operating limits. It's the endmost time to (re)value nature and to give people easy yet effective ways to take action. MERIT was created to do precisely that: to help us get back within planetary boundaries and balance the economy with nature's capacity. 

At this early phase, the MERIT token community directly contributes to protecting 48,007 hectares of mature forests in Europe and Amazon rainforests in South America that:

🐞 remove 105,831 tonnes of CO2 every year
🐞 store more than 6 million tonnes of carbon in the forest ecosystem (equivalent to 24 million tonnes of CO2)
🐞 provide habitat for threatened animal and plant species

Because of nature's ever-changing character and more landowners joining the platform, the number of tokens in circulation will change, and the impact will gather momentum. Learn more about the science, technology, and future of MERIT from our Lightpaper. 

First landowners received money for protecting their forests

If you are a forest owner today, the primary means of making money is to cut the trees down and sell them as timber. Meanwhile, the lands provide valuable ecosystem services as the same trees grow, such as sequestering CO2, contributing to the water ecosystem, supporting biodiversity, providing habitat for animals, and many more. 

As a society, we take these resources for granted and have failed to make any monetary contribution to landowners to sustain such services. We are here to shift the current paradigm and incentivize landowners to maintain and protect the ecosystems that keep the Earth healthy.

Yesterday, we felt the shift starting as the first landowners received income for taking good care of their forests. Giving them the message and receiving their sincere joy in return was heartwarming and reassuring.

“The method to create a digital twin is as intriguing as translating actual nature into digital fashion. By joining forces with Single.Earth, we hope to make it clear to the global society that we shouldn’t only rely on regulations and good character to protect the remaining nature we have. We as humans must understand that nature has a price that needs to compete financially with economical prices and other land use prices to protect nature justly.”

– André Manfredini, Managing Director of Natural Resources Conservation Ltd
Fazenda Santa Natalia in Brazil, Amazon primary rainforest, 47,832 hectares

“Single.Earth offers an excellent opportunity to earn additional income from forests. It helps to create a better balance between harvesting and extraction versus preservation. It also helps to avoid forest land conversion to alternative uses. Good luck to Single.Earth and congratulations for making it happen!”

– Kaimo Rim, private forest owner
Estonia, mature forest, 65 hectares

Towards a nature-based financial system

The full impact of the MERIT currency emerges when it is widely used for daily transactions that contribute to nature preservation globally. MERIT could seamlessly integrate paying for ecosystem services into our daily lives and the economy. 

Do you believe in a world where the economy could be limited to how much nature can sustain? Get a hold of the currency that does precisely that. We’re continuously working on new use cases for MERIT, so eventually, everything you can do with your money today, you will be able to do with MERIT. 

Missed the early access waitlist? We're opening to the general public in late September. Sign up at www.single.earth to be the first to know about new opportunities and updates. 

–––

Please note: due to our regulatory limitations as a licensed crypto service provider, token sales and official landowner onboarding are currently limited only to EEA (European Economic Area) residents. 

Keep in mind that while exploring the platform is non-binding and free of charge, transactions in MERIT do come with different fees and risks. Please take the time to read our service Terms and Risk Disclosure Statement. 

‍