6 questions to René Reinsberg from Celo

We ask blockchain and cryptocurrency builders what they think of the industry…and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes!< /em>

This week, our 6 questions are for Rene Reinsberg, co-founder of Celo, an open platform that makes financial tools accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.

Rene Reinsberg is co-founder of Celo and president of the Celo Foundation, a grant-making organization that supports the carbon-negative Celo blockchain. He has worked at the intersection of finance, technology and development for 15 years, including at Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, General Catalyst Partners, the World Bank and TechnoServe. His previous company, Locu, was acquired by GoDaddy where he served as VP of Emerging Products after the acquisition.

1 — What is the main obstacle to the mass adoption of blockchain technology?

For blockchain to be adopted by the mainstream, there needs to be a broader understanding of the technology, which requires better awareness and education for everyone from crypto newbies to crypto natives and -of the. Much of that responsibility falls on crypto to get the job done when thinking about last-mile solutions and go-to-market approaches.

We can develop a protocol, but we are also responsible for explaining our infrastructure and advocating for inclusivity. By presenting onboarding as a solution, dedicating resources to developing a simple or fun user experience, and building quality ramps between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, we make the industry more accessible and more easy to navigate. Accessibility, which has always guided Celo's mobile approach, is also key. With 6 billion smartphone users worldwide, decentralized and easily accessible financial building blocks are needed to build long-term, real-world adoption.

Finally, we need to redirect common conversations around Web3 to real applications and use cases that serve everyday people around the world. As Web3 can be used as a transformative tool to help uplift historically disenfranchised communities such as the unbanked and underbanked, sharing how blockchain has benefited farmers in Kenya in risky environments like the Amazon rainforest will further illustrate its impact.< /p> 2 — What do you think will be the biggest blockchain trend for the next 12 months?

As early DeFi protocols mature, we are seeing a strong push towards ReFi (regenerative finance) models, which align with the Celo Foundation values ​​of recognizing individuals as unique and connected. While conventional economic models defined success as unfettered exponential growth, they overlooked the extractive nature of industry, viewing our environment as an empty world with unlimited resources.

ReFi, however, recognizes that we live in a "complete world", to quote economist Herman Daly, with planetary boundaries, carrying capacities and tipping points. ReFi aims to correct this exploitation, by better interweaving our economic and ecological systems. Using money as a tool to assign value to natural capital-backed assets, ReFi places a price on externalities, charging those who create negative externalities and rewarding those who create positive externalities.

Projects such as ReSource, a bankless infrastructure for circular trade and mutual credit networks that benefit small businesses, and Flow Carbon or Toucan Protocol, which symbolize carbon offsets, are indicative of these efforts, among many other ReFi leaders within the Celo ecosystem.

3 - What is the problem that you think blockchain has a chance to solve, but no solution has yet been attempted?

Blockchain has the potential to help solve the world's thorny problems, from environmental degradation to deep poverty. The combination of blockchain technology with Web3's ability to accelerate action is what inspired the creation of Celo's Climate Collective and the Alliance for Prosperity, designed to raise awareness of issues affecting individuals and communities across the world. world. We invite founders and builders to align with our common goal, leveraging Web3's mass coordination tools to solve these mass coordination issues.

4 — What would you like to see tokenized? When, if ever, do you expect this to happen?

Chaining land and property would open up many exciting opportunities in creating use cases for DeFi beyond payments. Moss is a great example of Amazon rainforest land restoration NFTs happening right now, where one NFT is one hectare of forest. Not only are landowners granted real estate rights, but they are forced to participate in the conservation process by digitally monitoring their biodiversity-rich land via satellite.

5 — What has been the toughest challenge you have faced in our industry so far?