Welcome to Episode 2 of Growing Good on Solana, our three-part mini-series where we dive into the Solana impact ecosystem and highlight visionary builders using Web3 to reimagine what’s possible for people and the planet.
I want to give a big thank you to our friends at Superteam Canada and their grant partners for making this series possible.
Superteam is a global network of creatives, developers, and operators working to grow the Solana ecosystem in regions like India, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and right here in Canada.
Through grants, bounties, workshops, and a high-signal global community, Superteam is helping onboard a new wave of talent into Web3 by empowering people to build freely, earn globally, and own what they create.
Today we’re joined by James Bettauer, the Founder and CEO of ecoBridge, a pioneering platform on a mission to make ecological credits and measurable environmental impact universally accessible.
ecoBridge is tackling one of the biggest challenges in sustainability: how do we ensure that real-world positive impact is not just measurable and verifiable, but accessible to anyone, anywhere, and also economically viable?
Backed by early support from Solana, ecoBridge is helping to align environmental, social, and economic incentives using blockchain infrastructure, smart contracts, and new credit methodologies that go beyond carbon, with a goal of growing to encompass biodiversity, urban greening, reforestation, and other types of positive impact.
This contributes to their larger vision of a peer-to-peer philanthropic marketplace where verified impact is transparent, trustworthy, and powered by open systems, not closed registries or opaque reporting.
You’ll learn:
💸 Sustainability Must Be Economically Viable: The three pillars of sustainability - environmental, social, and economic - are often out of balance, with the economic piece seen as taboo. ecoBridge is using Web3 to flip the script, making positive impact financially viable through tokenized, verifiable credits.
🌍 A Marketplace for All Types of Impact: ecoBridge is starting with carbon and biodiversity credits, but that’s just the beginning. Their long-term vision is a global, peer-to-peer philanthropic marketplace where any kind of positive impact, from reforestation to feeding communities, can be verified and rewarded onchain.
⚡ Why Solana? Community and Innovation: ecoBridge chose Solana for its builder-first ethos, growing ecosystem of impact use cases, and strong community. With emerging integrations across DePIN, ReFi, and even decentralized gaming, ecoBridge is exploring how impact can become more transparent and engaging.
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03:20 - To start us off, can you introduce yourself and share the journey that led you from professional athletics to Web3 and ultimately founding ecoBridge?
06:25 - You wrote your MBA thesis on the three pillars of sustainability. How have those pillars shaped your vision for ecoBridge?
11:00 - Let’s dive into ecoBridge. What’s your mission and what problem are you solving?
16:40 - There’s no shortage of skepticism around carbon credits and ESG reporting. How does blockchain change the game when it comes to trust, transparency, and traceability in environmental impact?
23:50 - ecoBridge supports credits beyond carbon, including biodiversity credits. Tell me more about the types of credits you offer.
26:40 - Solana was one of your earliest backers and collaborators. What has your experience been like building in the Solana ecosystem, and why do you think it’s uniquely positioned to support ReFi innovation?
29:35 - For impact-driven builders and entrepreneurs, especially those in Canada or new to Solana or Web3, why is now the right time to build? What advice would you give someone just getting started?
31:00 - The Web3 and AI spaces are growing at a rapid pace. How do you keep up to date on all the developments while staying grounded?
32:10 - You’ve got a new initiative coming up called 0 Impact, which is focused on AI agents and environmental action, launching on the 0G blockchain. What can you tell us? How do AI agents fit into your vision for verified, accessible impact?
37:00 - What’s next for 0 Impact? Any alpha for listeners?
38:25 - Do you have a CTA for listeners? What’s the best way for them to learn more and start using your platform?
39:45 - ecoBridge’s vision is bold: a global, peer-to-peer philanthropic marketplace powered by blockchain. What are the biggest barriers to getting there, and what does the world look like once we do?
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While we may discuss specific web3 projects or cryptocurrencies on this podcast, please do not take any of this as investment advice, and please make sure to do your own research on potential investment opportunities, or any opportunity. We host a variety of guests on this podcast with the sole purpose of highlighting the social impact use cases of this technology. That being said, Crypto Altruism does not endorse any of these projects, and we recognize that, since this is an emerging sector, some may be operating in regulatory grey areas, and as such, we cannot confirm their legality in the jurisdictions in which they operate, especially as it pertains to decentralized finance protocols. So, before getting involved with any project, it’s important that you do your own research and confirm the legality of the project. More available HERE.
