Welcome to the ReFi Playbook — by RegenX 🌿🔆

Hi, I’m Ishan — founder of RegenX and curator of the ReFi Playbook. Whether you’re new here or have been following since our first issue, thanks for tuning in.

The ReFi Playbook is your insider look at the fast-growing world of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) for climate-positive projects. Each week, I share a curated mix of market moves, project deals, and tools driving the intersection of sustainable finance, Web3, and regenerative finance (ReFi).

Our goal is simple: help you navigate this evolving space with clarity, purpose, and impact.

If this isn’t for you, feel free to unsubscribe anytime — but if you’re curious about where tokenization and climate investing meet, you’ll want to stick around.

My Thoughts:

Recent stock market declines have understandably led many investors to move to cash, and if you’ve done so, well done. While it’s wise to stay cautious in times of heightened risk, especially with ongoing uncertainty around the Trump administration and new tariffs—it’s equally important to stay engaged and monitor your portfolio closely. The opportunity to buy the dip will come, but patience is key. Now is the time to prepare, not pounce.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Market Rundown

• Global Headlines

• Chart of the Day

• Education: Article of the Day

• Events & Pitches

Market Rundown

Global Headlines

• US stock markets were heavily sold off for the second day last Friday, after President Donald Trump’s global trade war has spooked investor and heightened worries of a looming recession.

• The Dow dropped 2,200 points last Friday or 5.50%, making it the biggest fall since June 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic. It follows a 1,679 point fall last Thursday. The S&P 500 lost 10% in 2 days.

• The NASDAQ Composite also tumbled, falling 5.8% on Friday, following a 6% fall on Thursday.

• The Aussie share market set to dive Monday morning, as threats of US recession grows amid a global trade war.

• Some of the largest hedge funds, have been hit with the biggest margin calls since COVID-19, exacerbating the sell-off.

• China hit back hard at Trump tariffs by imposing punitive 34% extra tariffs on all goods imported from US, exacerbating stock market sell-off. US based companies with Chinese exposure were among the hardest hit: Apple -7.29%, NVIDIA -7.36%, and Tesla -10.42%.

• The 10-year Treasury yield dipped under 4% Friday as investors moved to safety pushing bond prices higher and rates lower.

• The CBOE Volatility index or the fear index rose above 40, an extreme level seen only during market collapses.

• The S&P 500 falling over 5.5%, came close to triggering the 7% drop that triggers a Level 1 circuit breaker—part of a system that halts trading at -7% and -13% for 15 minutes (before 3:25 p.m. ET), and suspends the session entirely at -20%.

Chart of the Day

Bitcoin vs NASDAQ Chart — 6 April 2025
Below is a chart compares the recent performance of Bitcoin (BTC) and the NASDAQ index over the past few weeks, highlighting a sharp divergence in early April. While the NASDAQ plunged over 22%, triggering concerns of an equity market overreaction, Bitcoin dropped 13.65% but remained relatively stable in comparison, even showing signs of recovery with a brief rise on Friday. This divergence is notable given the strong correlation between BTC and tech stocks in recent quarters. According to Jeff Kilburg, CEO of KKM Financial, Bitcoin’s resilience amid the stock market selloff suggests investors may be unfairly punishing equities. He argues that the sharp equity selloff reflects fear and uncertainty more than fundamentals, especially as Bitcoin—often seen as a high-risk asset—held firm instead of collapsing in sync with stocks. The chart underscores Kilburg’s view that the disconnect between traditional and digital asset markets could present strategic entry points amid the volatility.

Up until the last few days, Bitcoin had been highly correlated to the tech heavy NASDAQ index and should have fallen a lot further than where it is. The message here, is that equity markets have over-reacted. A change in investor sentiment will see a swift bounce back, which could present a great buying opportunity.

What’s happening in the world of RWA?

• The Real-World Asset (RWA) space continues to heat up as traditional finance and crypto converge. This week, Calastone launched its Tokenised Fund Distribution platform for fund managers. A quiet revolution in investing is underway, driven by tokenisation — the process of turning real-world assets like funds, real estate, or solar farms into digital tokens tradable on the blockchain. Global financial network Calastone just launched a Tokenised Distribution service, enabling fund managers to access blockchain investors without overhauling their systems. This move validates the direction RegenX is heading: bringing climate infrastructure like solar and battery projects on-chain. Through RegenX, investors can gain fractional ownership, track real-time impact, and access liquidity via a secondary market. As traditional finance embraces tokenisation, it’s clear the future of investing is digital, transparent, and impact-driven. To read more click here.

• Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, highlighted blockchain in his annual letter, noting that private markets have long been inaccessible to most investors. BlackRock aims to change that, mirroring the digital asset space, where tokenizing private assets is seen as a major opportunity, as noted in a recent State Street survey.

• According to rwa.xyz, the market value of tokenized US Treasuries pushes past $5bn for the first time as the demand for real-world assets (RWAs) heats up. The increase in value came from inflows into BlackRock’s and Securitize’s market leading BUIDL.

  

  Source - rwa.xyz

• The shift to RWA? - As geopolitical tensions rise, sparked by Trumps U.S. tariffs, crypto investors are shifting toward more stable assets like stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). With Bitcoin down 19% and markets rattled, capital is flowing into digital assets backed by tangible value, such as real estate and financial instruments on-chain. RWAs, now nearing $20B in market size, offer investors a mix of stability, liquidity, and blockchain-enabled transparency. Analysts expect this trend to accelerate, positioning RWAs as a major emerging asset class in the face of global uncertainty.

• April 9 - A glimmer of Good News? The U.S. House will hold a crypto market structure hearing on April 9. While these meetings often spark selloffs, there’s hope this one might offer some clarity on tokenization and digital asset regulations.

How Blockchain can help save the Planet and Your Super

Active Super was ordered to pay a $10.5 million penalty handed down by ASIC for greenwashing misconduct.

In case you missed it, one of Australia’s largest super funds, Active Super, was slapped with a whopping $10.5 million fine for something called greenwashing. But what does that really mean? And how could something like blockchain have helped avoid it?

Greenwashing, in a nutshell, is when a company makes misleading or false claims about the environmental benefits of its products. For example, a water bottle company advertising recycled plastic lids while the bottle itself is made of new plastic. Or in the case of Active Super, a super fund claiming to exclude harmful investments, but in reality, continuing to invest in them, behind the scenes.

Naughty, naughty.

Active Super is no small fund either. With around 165,000 members and over $29 billion in funds under management, it is Australia’s 30th largest super fund with a rather large responsibility in looking after people’s retirement savings. Labelled a green fund, they told their members they were investing responsibly, avoiding things like coal, gambling, and oil. But later it was discovered they had invested millions into coal mines, casinos, and oil companies, while still claiming to be "green."

And that’s what greenwashing is: Pretending to be environmentally friendly when you're not. It’s a slap in the face to those members who genuinely care about the planet and it further erodes investor trust and confidence not just in one fund, but in the entire idea of climate investing.

So how can we fix this?

This is where blockchain steps in. Think of a blockchain like a giant public notebook that no one can erase or fake. Every transaction, every project detail, every green claim, every dollar invested, is written down and can’t be changed.

If Active Super had used blockchain, every investment could have been checked by members in real-time. There would be no hiding coal, gambling, or oil investments behind fancy reports and investors, regulators, even regular people can see exactly where their money is being invested.

In simple terms… blockchain makes it very hard to lie.

This isn't just about super funds. Real-world climate projects like solar & wind farms, reforestation projects, and battery storage also have a problem proving their results. Commonly asked questions by investors are - “Is this solar farm really generating clean energy?”, “Are these trees really growing and absorbing carbon?” and “Is this battery actually helping reduce emissions?”.

With blockchain, these projects can record real-time data like energy produced, carbon saved, or trees planted directly onto the blockchain. This means investors know the results are real, verified, and impossible to fake.

By putting both climate projects and super fund investments onto blockchain, everyone wins. Investors trust that their money is going where it should. Projects can raise more money because they prove their impact and Super funds can show regulators and members exactly what they are doing with member’s money… greenwash free.

This is exactly why we created RegenX. We built a platform that connects investors directly to climate projects that they can trust. Every project on RegenX is verified on the blockchain, meaning investors can see, in real-time, exactly how much clean energy is being generated, how much carbon is being reduced, or how much biodiversity is being protected. No greenwashing. Just facts, verified data, and real impact.

We are currently in our pilot stage, working with our first real-world solar and land conservation projects. But to bring this to life at scale, we need your help. Whether you’re an investor, a climate advocate, or just curious about how blockchain can make a difference, we’d love for you to join us.

In a world where fighting climate change is urgent, blockchain gives us something we really need: Trust and transparency that you can check for yourself.

RegenX is pitching at Decarb Pitch Fest #2

EnergyLab is Australia’s largest climate tech startup accelerator. The Decarb Pitch Fest showcases the startups from Cohort 2 of EnergyLab's Investment Ready Program for Queensland climate tech founders. This event brings together investors, startups, and the wider Queensland climate tech ecosystem. 

Event schedule

• 5:30pm: Complimentary food and drinks

• 6:00: Startup pitches

• 7:30: Networking

• 8:30: Event finishes

Startups pitching:

• Bitpool (Ben Carter & David Blanch) is a Building Intelligence Platform optimising clients’ performance, cutting their costs, and reducing their carbon footprint.

• Gate 46 (Joshua Savage & Damien Stone) provides waste-to-energy technologies and sustainable agricultural practices for dairy farms.

• Genevo Marine (Damon Rahmate & Andrew Davey) is on the path to become Australia’s first fully electric production speed-boat and drive train.

• InfigoLabs (Prashant Parulekar) uses zero-emission high temperature flame of steam to create value in high-yield, coke-free ethylene production and to complete PFAS (forever chemicals) destruction.

• Methane Intel (Geoff Osborn) provides integrated satellite and sensor-based site methane reporting for coal, gas, landfill, and feedlot industries.

• Ocean Orchards (Adrian Spierings & Anna Hendra) turns pond slime into a high value cosmetic extract, a tasteless plant-based protein powder, and carbon negative concrete. All at the same time.

• RegenX (Ishan Dan) is a tokenised investment platform helping impact investors access verified green projects with transparency and trust.

• Sequestra (Warwick Anderson & Sheree Anderson) creates carbon credits through self-sustaining ecosystems that regenerate land, improves soil health, and drive economic value.

• Squirrel Energy (Joris Eerkens) is a vertically integrated developer, builder, and operator of sub-5 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with a focus on AI-driven energy trading.

• Swapping Chain (Nic Robertson) is an algorithm-driven swapping platform unlocking the hidden value in dormant goods.

• Tera (Lachlan Jeremijenko & Rochelle Caron) provides a hardware solution that transforms CO2 emissions from existing industrial processes into useful carbon products.

Huge thanks to EnergyLab for the opportunity to pitch at Decarb Pitch Fest #2—we're incredibly pumped to be part of such a high-impact cohort. If you're in Queensland, come along to The Precinct on May 1st, meet some amazing climate tech founders, and say hi. Let’s decarb together.

Here's the ticket link for the upcoming Decarb Pitch Fest #2: https://events.humanitix.com/decarb-pitch-fest-2
Read more about the cohort here: https://shorturl.at/ZLv5O

Turning Water Into Value: The Rise of Tokenized Water Credits 💧

Hypercube and INDAQUA are redefining water sustainability by launching tokenized water credits (WTR) on the Algorand blockchain. By tracking reclaimed water through APIs connected to flowmeters and pumps, each cubic meter reused generates a tradable WTR token, enabling companies to offset their water footprint while supporting the development of alternative water sources like desalination and rain harvesting. Backed by partners like KPMG and TÜV Rheinland, and already listed on major exchanges, WTR is proving that water can be both sustainable and investable. With expansion plans in Brazil, Cape Verde, and beyond, this model is a powerful step toward making water a viable, verifiable asset in the ReFi ecosystem.

Click here to register - Hypercube | The regenerative tokenization and water credits platform

OKX Launches 'April Rush' Trading Rewards Campaign

OKX is running its April Rush promo until May 1, offering users up to 60,000 USDT in rewards—including ETH, iPhones, and trading bonuses—for completing trading tasks. With zero-fee conversions, deep liquidity, and advanced tools for pros, OKX continues to cater to both retail and institutional investors. Click here to join. 

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of the ReFi Playbook. I appreciate you being part of this growing community of builders, investors, and changemakers shaping the future of climate finance. If you found value here, feel free to forward it to a friend or colleague who might be curious about the world of tokenized RWAs and regenerative finance. And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next drop. Until then, stay curious, stay regenerative. 🌱

Ishan
Founder, RegenX