Whitepaper
Version 2.0
A blockchain-based ecosystem for nature preservation and high-yield ESG investing
Disclaimer and abstraction
The purpose of this Whitepaper is to present TicoRico – a blockchain-based ecosystem for nature preservation and high-yield ESG investing – to potential community members who want to join TicoRico Community in connection with the proposed TIRI Token Launch, or “Initial Coin Offering” (“ICO”) and Crowdsale. The information set forth below should not be considered exhaustive and does not imply any elements of a contractual relationship. Its sole purpose is to provide relevant and reasonable information to potential utility token holders in order for them to determine whether to undertake a thorough analysis of the company with the intent of acquiring TIRI tokens.
Nothing in this Whitepaper shall be deemed to constitute a prospectus or any sort of solicitation for investment, nor does it, in any way, pertain to an offering or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. The document is not composed in accordance with, and is not subject to, laws or regulations of any jurisdiction which are designed to protect investors.
Certain statements, estimates, and financial information contained within this Whitepaper constitute forward-looking, or pro forma statements, and information. Such statements or information involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from the estimates or the results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements.
Table of contents
Natural Resource Scarcity and Environmental Degradation6
The TicoRico project: an introduction16
Problems and solutions by TicoRico18
Land conservation and resource protection22
Token retiring for environmental certifications via NFTs24
Integration with Future Phases (NatureHero)32
Future development: Phase 2 - NatureHero (NH)33
Dedicated blockchain and validators33
Funding platform for external projects34
Incentive structures and gamification35
Educational tools and concepts35
Future development: Phase 3 - Natureales37
Custom blockchain framework expansion38
External token creation and validators38
Interoperability and Scalability39
Abstract
The growing recognition of biodiversity loss, deforestation, and ecosystem degradation has led to the rise of concepts supporting sustainable environmental conservation. However, industries related to landscape preservation, carbon offsetting, and sustainable agriculture are still struggling with several critical issues. Global deforestation continues to destroy millions of hectares of land annually, contributing to the rapid decline of biodiversity and accelerating climate change.
Despite an increasing awareness of the need for land preservation and sustainable practices, traditional conservation funding mechanisms often lack transparency, scalability, and active community engagement. Additionally, the rise of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing has exposed challenges such as greenwashing and insufficient accountability, leaving investors uncertain about the tangible impact of their contributions.
TicoRico presents an innovative solution to these challenges through a blockchain-based platform aimed at transforming how conservation projects are funded and managed. The project offers a unique model where participants can contribute to land preservation, CO2 sequestration, and sustainable agriculture by purchasing a utility token, TIRI, which funds real-world conservation efforts without creating regulatory complications. The project’s decentralized approach ensures that contributions are fully transparent, verifiable, and auditable via blockchain technology, eliminating concerns about greenwashing and promoting accountability.
The TicoRico project is divided into three distinct phases. Phase 1, the focus of this white paper, establishes the foundation with the introduction of the TIRI token, which allows users to support land preservation efforts and receive environmental certifications in return. The second phase, NatureHero, will expand on this by introducing a dedicated blockchain, staking mechanisms, and validators, enabling a decentralized platform where users can fund and engage with additional sustainability projects. Phase 3, Natureales, will complete the vision by allowing external projects to launch their own blockchains with validators via sidechains, creating a robust ecosystem for environmental sustainability.
The project is structured to attract both B2B and B2C investors who seek to combine financial returns with positive environmental impact, offering a unique hybrid of conservation-focused investment and token-based incentives.
The first phase, TicoRico, will serve as the primary funding mechanism for the subsequent phases. TicoRico will become an independent, external preservation project in Phase 2, which will become possible by acquiring assets and liquidity through the primary fundraising round. Community members will be able to continuously contribute towards the growth of TicoRico via the NatureHero platform. TicoRico is thus essentially laying the groundwork for future ecosystem development by generating liquidity and awareness for sustainability-focused projects.
Industry overview
Natural Resource Scarcity and Environmental Degradation
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis in terms of natural resource scarcity and environmental degradation, driven by deforestation, land-use change, and unsustainable resource extraction. As human populations grow and economies expand, the demand for natural resources such as land, water, and biodiversity continues to rise, leading to devastating impacts on ecosystems.
Forests play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating climate, and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people. However, driven by agricultural expansion, illegal logging, and infrastructure development, deforestation continues at a rapid pace, contributing to the loss of species, increased carbon emissions, and disruption of water cycles.
Graph: Humid primary forest lost by year. From 2002 to 2023, there was a total of 76.3 Mha of humid primary forest lost globally, making up 16% of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. Total area of humid primary forest decreased by 7.4% in this time period.[1]
For example, the Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the “lungs of the planet,” is one of the most threatened ecosystems. Between 2001 and 2023, tree cover loss in critical biomes such as the Amazon and the Cerrado has accelerated, exacerbating climate change and leading to biodiversity collapse. In Africa, forest loss is similarly concerning, as regions like the Congo Basin face intense pressure from agricultural conversion and resource extraction.
Scarcity of Vital Resources
The scarcity of critical natural resources such as freshwater, arable land, and biodiversity is becoming an increasing concern for both environmental sustainability and human well-being. The over-exploitation of these resources is placing pressure on ecosystems, resulting in degraded landscapes, desertification, and reduced agricultural productivity. Moreover, biodiversity loss has accelerated significantly in recent decades. According to the WWF’s Living Planet Report, wildlife populations have declined by an average of 69% over the last 50 years, with species in Latin America experiencing a shocking 94% decline.
Graph: WWF and the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) Institute of Zoology, find an average 69% decline in wildlife populations around the world between 1970 and 2018.[2]
This degradation of ecosystems has severe consequences, not only for biodiversity but also for the services ecosystems provide, such as carbon sequestration, clean water, and food production. The over-extraction of water for agriculture and industry, for instance, is leading to water scarcity in many regions, reducing the availability of this vital resource for both humans and wildlife.
Graph: The biodiversity indicator reveals different potential outcomes depending on the actions taken. The black line reflects the historical trend, while the gray line projects continued biodiversity loss if no corrective measures are implemented, with recovery delayed until after 2100. Conservation efforts, shown by the green line, are essential, but alone, they will not reverse the decline before 2050 and will still result in substantial biodiversity losses. To achieve an earlier recovery, by 2050, and reduce overall losses, conservation must be coupled with sustainable production and consumption strategies, as represented by the yellow line.[3]
Land as a Commodity & Resource
Land continues to be one of the most valuable natural resources, with increasing demand for agricultural use, urbanization, and conservation.
Graph: Prices of agricultural land in the US between 1997 and 2024. There is a 4-fold increase over the last 27 years.[4]
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Investing
ESG investing is gaining momentum globally, driven by investor demand for projects that promote sustainability. In 2022, environmental, social, and governance-related assets reached over $35 trillion globally, with expectations for significant growth in the coming years. The focus is on projects that contribute to carbon reduction, biodiversity, and sustainable land use.
Graph: ESG-mandated assets are projected to make up half of all professionally managed assets globally by 2024.[5]
Tokenization of Environmental Assets
The tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) is rapidly gaining traction across industries, with its market projected to reach a value between $3.5 trillion (bear case) and $10 trillion (bull case) by 2030. This transformative technology has expanded from traditional assets like real estate and equities into environmental assets, including land, water, carbon credits, and biodiversity. Blockchain technology allows for the creation of tokens representing environmental assets such as land, water, or CO2 credits. RWA tokenization can play a key role in democratizing access to sustainable investments while introducing liquidity to previously illiquid markets. Last but not least, it can become a powerful tool for financing environmental initiatives.
Graph: RWA tokenization outlook. Asset tokenization is projected to reach $16 trillion by 2030.[6]
The tokenization of environmental assets, such as conservation land or carbon sequestration initiatives, can enable new financing models for sustainability projects. Through tokenization, investors gain fractional ownership or utility rights in environmental projects without the complexities of direct land ownership, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Several projects have been successfully tokenizing carbon credits, integrating them into blockchain ecosystems. This approach could be adapted by preservation initiatives to offer users an indirect stake in land conservation efforts via token-based certifications or other digital assets, avoiding security token classification.
While the market is expanding, tokenizing environmental assets presents unique challenges, particularly in terms of regulatory compliance and valuation of intangible assets like biodiversity. However, environmental initiatives can benefit from adopting blockchain frameworks that ensure transparency, traceability, and fractionalized participation, which can drive both investor interest and long-term conservation goals. By integrating real-world assets into their ecosystem, such projects can position themselves at the forefront of sustainable finance innovations.
The tokenization of environmental assets is poised to become a key mechanism for financing conservation initiatives, providing liquidity, transparency, and broader participation in environmental protection efforts.
Sustainability and Blockchain
Despite popular belief that cryptocurrencies and, by extension, blockchain technology, are not environmentally efficient, this couldn’t be further from the truth today. With the emergence of consensus mechanisms like PoS (Proof of Stake) that require close to no energy unlike their predecessor PoW (Proof of Work), crypto transactions have become nearly as energy efficient as traditional transactions. Furthermore, blockchain technology offers transparency, traceability, and decentralization, making it ideal for managing complex environmental projects. Sustainable blockchain networks, such as those using Proof of Stake (PoS) or Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA), are growing.
The current Proof-of-Work system consumes roughly 5.13 gigawatts on a continuous basis, whereas the Proof-of- Stake system consumes only 2.62 MW, or about 99.95% less energy.[7]
Graph: Ethereum energy consumption. The steep decline signifies the transition of the blockchain network to a PoS consensus, a testament to the much lower energy required and, thus, lesser negative environmental impact. This opens to the door of environmental initiatives to use blockchain technology, which was inaccessible to them before simply due to the overall negative impact of similar solutions and the conflict it presented with their core philosophies.[8]
The future of environmental projects lies in decentralization. Projects utilizing blockchain, tokens, and decentralized governance represent the next generation of conservation efforts. As these projects scale, they have the potential to attract both retail and institutional investors looking for impactful green investments
Looking ahead, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain in environmental monitoring and impact assessment could further enhance the effectiveness of nature preservation projects. These technologies can provide real-time data on land use, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity, offering deeper insights and transparency.
Issues and challenges
⍰ Problem: Rapid deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss
Every year, millions of hectares of forests are lost, driven by unsustainable agricultural practices, illegal logging, and land conversion for industrial purposes. In 2022, global deforestation reached 6.6 million hectares, with most losses concentrated in tropical regions.
Habitat destruction has led to a dramatic decline in biodiversity. Wildlife populations have decreased by 69% over the last 50 years, with Latin America seeing a 94% decline. The lack of sustainable land management practices is pushing many ecosystems to the brink of collapse.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive set of solutions that can provide a variety of incentives - including monetary - to all stakeholders involved. Such solutions can provide motivation for the effective initiation of more conservation projects and higher participation on behalf of supporters.
⍰ Problem: Lack of transparency in ESG investments and the problem of greenwashing
Investors are increasingly interested in ESG-focused projects, but transparency and accountability remain major issues. Many environmental initiatives lack the necessary verification mechanisms to prove their impact.
The rise in ESG investing has also led to greenwashing, where companies falsely claim to be environmentally responsible to attract investment, without delivering tangible environmental benefits.
⍰ Problem: Complexity, low degree of adoption and legal barriers in tokenization
Tokenizing real-world assets like land or environmental services is complex and often falls under security regulations. This makes it difficult for blockchain-based conservation projects to operate legally without extensive regulatory oversight.
Despite the promise of asset tokenization, adoption is still limited due to the legal and logistical challenges of converting environmental assets into tradable tokens. This has slowed the growth of tokenized solutions in the environmental sector.
⍰ Problem: Low user engagement in conservation projects and lack of incentives
Many conservation initiatives struggle to maintain long-term user engagement. After the initial donation or investment, participants often lose interest due to a lack of ongoing interaction or tangible rewards.
Conservation projects generally lack the mechanisms needed to incentivize users to remain active or make recurring contributions, which limits the scalability of these initiatives.
⍰ Problem: Centralization of conservation efforts and limited platforms for crowdsourced conservation
Large conservation organizations dominate the market, often leaving smaller and more local initiatives without funding or support. Smaller projects typically lack the resources to attract investment and grow their conservation impact.
There are only a handful platforms that allow community-driven or decentralized participation in environmental projects, which limits the scope and accessibility of conservation efforts.
The TicoRico project: an introduction
TicoRico is the foundational phase of a multi-stage project aimed at leveraging blockchain technology for environmental conservation, with a particular focus on land preservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. Split into three distinct development phases (1. TicoRico, 2. NatureHero and 3. Natureales), TicoRico will become the foundation and basis upon which the next stages will be built.
The goal of the first phase is to build a strong community of participants who contribute to the expansion of protected ecosystems through a utility token called TIRI that enables users to indirectly participate in conservation efforts by funding land preservation projects. With the majority of the proceedings collected via the ICO, the TicoRico project will acquire RWA (real world assets) including land and natural resources, while giving unique rights to TIRI token holders in return. These rights will include the retirement of the token for environmental certificates as NFTs, which can be used as a mechanism for impact offsetting, a methodology especially useful for both individuals and companies looking to lessen their negative environmental impact, while contributing towards land and natural resource preservation. The retirement option goes beyond traditional concepts some refer to as greenwashing, as every token essentially represents land and natural resources acquired and reserved by the project, a connection ensured by immutable blockchain technology. As such, the TIRI token and its underlying redemption mechanism can be used in marketing claims and overall be used as a positive-value creating instrument that also holds future monetary ROI potential.
Additionally, the TicoRico project and the TIRI token align with ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investment trends, essentially providing a sound ESG investment vehicle utilizing blockchain technology. Currently, there are very few projects on the blockchain market which effectively connect cryptocurrency assets with land preservation efforts. Due to the fact that land naturally appreciates in value over time, the underlying asset the token is based on is expected to support the token’s price floor and contribute towards a potential for growth. This provides ESG investments through the TIRI token with a high ROI potential, next to their positive environmental impact.
Beyond that, the TIRI token will give exclusive rights related to the two further development phases of the project - NatureHero, a community-empowered ecosystem and digital platform with various services and Natureales, an expansion of the NatureHero phase with a proprietary blockchain allowing for the creation of side chains with their own validators. The exclusive rights will include preferential conditions for token swaps once the native blockchain of the TicoRico project is launched, access to a variety of value-generation mechanisms such as staking, the right to become a validator in the network and many others. This will allow TIRI holders to become first movers in what we believe is to be a transformative vision for the way we approach land and resource preservation through token-based incentive structures within a comprehensive ecosystem.
Problems and solutions by TicoRico
The TicoRico project addresses several pressing issues in the environmental, tokenization, and ESG investment sectors. By offering a transparent, decentralized, and scalable solution for conservation, TicoRico positions itself as an innovative model for sustainable investment. Its approach not only ensures compliance with regulatory frameworks, but also encourages long-term user engagement and community-driven environmental impact.
⍰ Problem: Rapid deforestation, land degradation and biodiversity loss
☑ Solution: Tokenized conservation and environmental certifications
TicoRico directly addresses these issues by creating a tokenized mechanism for acquiring and preserving land and natural resources. The funds generated from token sales are used to purchase and protect biodiversity-rich areas, preventing further degradation. Token holders contribute to large-scale conservation projects, helping safeguard vital ecosystems.
By providing certificates that represent contributions to land protection or CO2 sequestration as NFTs, TicoRico offers a tangible, token-backed mechanism to promote conservation. This solution ensures that individual and institutional participants can actively contribute to halting deforestation and biodiversity loss and acknowledge their positive environmental impact. By becoming first movers, they also get preferential conditions for the further development of the project that can be reflected also in monetary rewards.
⍰ Problem: Lack of transparency in ESG Investments and the issue with greenwashing
☑ Solution: Provable environmental certification through a blockchain-based mechanism for provable environmental certification
By leveraging blockchain technology, TicoRico ensures that all transactions and land acquisitions are fully transparent and verifiable. This level of transparency builds trust among investors and ensures that funds are being used for legitimate environmental purposes.
The ability to redeem tokens for certificates that validate environmental contributions (such as land preservation or CO2 offsetting) directly addresses the greenwashing problem. Participants can verify their contributions in real-time, ensuring accountability.
⍰ Problem: Complexity, legal barriers and limited adoption for tokenization concepts
☑ Solution: Utility token model enabling indirect asset contributions
TicoRico sidesteps the regulatory complications of tokenizing natural resources by offering a utility token (TIRI) that represents a contribution toward land conservation, rather than direct land ownership. This allows TicoRico to operate within the bounds of regulatory frameworks, avoiding security classification.
The project offers environmental impact through a digital platform without token holders owning the assets. This model simplifies regulatory compliance and encourages wider participation in tokenized environmental efforts
⍰ Problem: Low user engagement in conservation projects and lack of incentives
☑ Solution: Gamification, rewards and a deflationary token
TicoRico introduces gamification elements such as ranks, badges, and rewards to keep users engaged over time. By integrating these rewards into the ecosystem, users are incentivized to continuously interact with the platform and contribute more tokens to conservation efforts.
The token burning mechanism, where tokens are destroyed upon retiring them for NFT certifications, creates scarcity and increases the value of remaining tokens. This offers a strong financial incentive for long-term participation, as token holders can benefit from both environmental impact and potential value appreciation
⍰ Problem: Centralization of conservation efforts and limited platforms for crowdsourced conservation
☑ Solution: Decentralized platform for participation with unlimited potential in the next development phases of the project
By creating a blockchain-based platform, TicoRico democratizes conservation efforts, allowing individuals and small organizations to contribute to or create their own projects. This decentralized approach enables even small-scale conservation efforts to receive funding and engage with a global audience.
As TicoRico evolves into the second phase (NatureHero), the platform will offer a space for external sustainability projects to raise funds. This extends the impact of the platform, providing opportunities for smaller initiatives to thrive within the ecosystem. TicoRico will become an independent project on the NatureHero platform, which community members will be able to support and will enable its continuous growth.
The vision
The vision of the Tico Rico project is built upon a three-pillar structure, each of which we would refer to as a different phase of the development of the same project. This phased development approach ensures that the project scales from a focused conservation initiative (TicoRico) to a broader sustainability ecosystem (NatureHero), ultimately evolving into a comprehensive platform for natural asset management (Natureales). Each phase has distinct objectives but is interconnected to form a cohesive long-term vision.
While this white paper specifically deals with the first phase - the Tico Rico project - we will briefly outline the full vision of the project in this chapter.
Phase 1: TicoRico
As we outlined earlier, TicoRico is the first phase of the project development and will be designed as a conservation project where each token contributes to the preservation and protection of natural resources, specifically land areas such as forests, water sources, and ecosystems. This phase will provide the initial liquidity for the next phase, NatureHero and will serve as a MVP / proof of concept.
In this phase, we will specifically focus on acquiring RWA that will become the basis Our focus will thus be on tangible, real-world environmental impact. Unlike projects that focus solely on digital or tokenized assets, TicoRico is deeply tied to the physical preservation and enhancement of natural resources, ensuring that token contributions lead to meaningful conservation outcomes.
The TIRI token is a utility token used within the project ecosystem, providing access to services like certifications for protecting specific land areas or contributing to environmental efforts. It enables users to indirectly contribute to the preservation of nature while ensuring compliance with regulations.
Once NatureHero is launched, TicoRico will become a standalone, external preservation project, which ecosystem participants will be able to support.
Core objectives
Land conservation and resource protection
The primary focus of TicoRico is to acquire and preserve land with significant environmental value. This land will include forests, water sources, or other natural ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity protection, carbon sequestration, and sustainable resource management. As the project expands, each TIRI token purchased will represent a financial contribution toward the conservation of these natural areas, ensuring that the land is safeguarded from harmful activities such as deforestation, over-extraction, or unsustainable agriculture. For every TIRI token purchased, the conservation project commits to acquiring more land for preservation, ensuring a tangible impact on natural resource protection. TicoRico is deeply tied to the physical preservation and enhancement of natural resources, ensuring that token contributions lead to meaningful conservation outcomes.
Landscape: TicoRico’s conservation efforts extend to protecting and restoring diverse landscapes, such as forests, agricultural areas, and water basins. This aligns with the acquisition and protection of land aimed at biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem restoration, all critical for combating climate change.
TicoRico helps to maintain or restore the delicate balance of ecosystems by focusing on preserving the natural composition of landscapes, providing essential habitats for endangered and native species. This method creates a more resilient and self-sustaining environment compared to the simplified, economically driven monocultures. Restoring these ecosystems is key to bringing back the full spectrum of biodiversity that is lost.
Trees: The preservation and planting of trees are central to TicoRico’s environmental goals. Reforestation and afforestation efforts contribute to CO2 sequestration, which directly addresses climate change while also protecting ecosystems that depend on forest health. The tokens represent contributions toward these efforts, with certificates validating the positive environmental impact.
The project emphasizes reforestation efforts that replicate the natural composition and diversity of primary forests. This approach involves planting a variety of native species in the correct ecological context, allowing the forest to regenerate as a complex, biodiverse ecosystem. The goal is to restore natural processes, including nutrient cycling, water retention, and habitat creation for wildlife, which are often lost in monoculture plantations.
Water sources: TicoRico also focuses on protecting and maintaining water resources, ensuring the availability of clean water for ecosystems and human use. This addresses the global issue of water scarcity and highlights the project’s holistic approach to ecosystem conservation.
CO2 bonding: The project incorporates CO2 bonding, a critical environmental service that supports carbon capture and storage efforts through nature-based solutions like reforestation and soil management. Token holders contribute to reducing atmospheric carbon through CO2 binding, with their investments tied to quantifiable environmental outcomes such as CO2 offsets.
Holistic approach: The holistic approach of TicoRico encompasses not just the environment but also the social and economic aspects of sustainable development. By integrating conservation, sustainable agriculture, and resource management, the project creates a comprehensive ecosystem that benefits both the environment and local communities.
TicoRico is designed to be scalable, meaning that as more tokens are sold, the project can acquire more land and expand its conservation efforts. Additionally, the infrastructure built during Phase 1 will lay the groundwork for future integration with the second and third phases of the project (NatureHero and Natureales), allowing for a seamless transition toward broader environmental and community-based initiatives
TicoRico will be built on blockchain, allowing transparent tracking of environmental contributions. Participants can track the expansion of conserved land and engage with the platform’s services. The use of blockchain technology ensures that all land purchases and conservation efforts are publicly visible and verifiable. Participants can track how their contributions are being used to acquire and protect land, ensuring that the project’s promises are fulfilled. This level of transparency is essential for maintaining trust among token holders and attracting future investors. Rather than representing direct ownership of land, the TIRI token provides access to various environmental services within the TicoRico ecosystem, such as NFT-based certifications for land protection or carbon offset initiatives. This leads us to the second key feature of the first phase of the project.
Token retiring for environmental certifications via NFTs
A core feature of TicoRico is the ability for token holders to retire their TIRI tokens for digital certifications as NFTs that recognize their support of specific environmental initiatives. For example, users will receive a NFT certificate validating their contribution to carbon sequestration through forest preservation or their support for biodiversity protection in a particular ecosystem. All tokens that are retired will be sent to a burn address and destroyed. This use case gives the TIRI token a tangible utility while reinforcing the project’s core mission of conservation.
NFT certificates
The certificates will be created immediately upon retiring TIRI tokens. When a user retires tokens, a smart contract will automatically trigger the minting of a unique NFT that serves as a certificate representing their contribution, such as land preservation or CO2 offsetting. The NFT will be transferred to the user's wallet as a proof of contribution. The non-fungible token will contain every relevant metadata such as ID, the exact amount of tokens that were destroyed and the corresponding value measured in natural resources. A separate section on the dashboard will measure the environmental contribution in various quantifiable terms such as trees planted for example, which will act as an incentive for users by allowing them to easily trace their positive impact.
Some of the data that will be included in the NFT metadata and stored on-chain by default will be:
- Unique ID: Each NFT can be assigned a unique identifier, ensuring that no two certificates are alike.
- Environmental impact details: The metadata can store details about the user’s contribution (e.g., hectares of land preserved, amount of CO2 offset).
The NFTs will be customizable further against a specific fee depending on what the user wants:
- Artwork or visuals: Each NFT will come with a default visual representation of the certificate in different tiers depending on the value of the TIRI tokens retired (bronze, silver, gold or platinum). If the user wants to have it customized further, he will be able to provide a custom image that will be used to create the personalized NFT.
The certifications will be designed to be internationally recognized, which will be achieved by providing our full audit of real world assets such as land and natural resources that have been acquired with the proceedings of the token. This will ensure that the user redeeming the token has in fact contributed towards the acquisition and preservation of the same resources. Due to the immutability of NFTs, the certification will be tamper-proof and traceable on the blockchain.
Challenges
There are several challenges in having an automated mechanism for NFT-based certificate creation, all of which we will resolve by utilizing specific mechanisms.
One of these challenges are gas fees. In order to reduce costs, we will utilize the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain, which can reduce the costs dramatically compared to other solutions like Ethereum. These can be as low as 0,10$ per NFT or even lower depending on the current network load.
Another challenge that is also closely related to that is scalability and the frequency of transactions. Initially, we will implement a minimum requirement for users who want to retire tokens that will ensure it won’t be possible to mint small amounts. Additionally, we will also implement a cooldown that will only allow users to retire tokens a limited number of times over a specific timeframe. In the future, we will consider using Layer 2 solutions for better scalability, allowing us to bundle up transactions off the main chain via the second layer and then submit them in bulk.
The smart contracts which will execute the automated rules will be audited by an independent third party in order to ensure they are free of bugs or vulnerabilities that could be exploited. This will ensure there are no challenges related to the technical side of the execution of the whole process of retiring and certification.
Last but not least, the storage of certain metadata on-chain can be costly. We will instead store only the NFT’s core information on-chain (e.g., unique ID, certificate type), while storing the certificate image and detailed metadata off-chain, using services like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) to ensure decentralization and availability.
Burning of retired tokens
Upon retiring, the tokens will be destroyed - these tokens are sent directly to a burn address, effectively removing them from circulation. Destroying the tokens provides users with loyalty points, which contribute towards their gamification rank and entitles them to the same advantages a TIRI token holder is eligible for during the later stages of the project development. These advantages include access to higher staking rewards, preferential conditions for the token swap, early access to the token airdrops, share of the community reward pool that will be built with transaction fees and many more. For example, a user who has decided to redeem their TIRI tokens will get continuous passive rewards from the community reward pool from the native NaHT token, which will be launched during the second phase of the project development (Nature Hero). This ensures that token holders will be incentivized to engage in the retirement mechanism rather than save their TIRI tokens for the swap later.
The impact of this whole mechanism of retiring TIRI on tokenomics is beneficial: the supply reacts to the demand for the use case of the token in a natural way. This means that if the use case provides value to users, it will be engaged with, which in turn will improve the tokenomics by reducing the total supply, making the token deflationary. The TIRI token will essentially become scarce, which will drive its value.
Because TIRI tokens become scarce and more valuable, the same amount of TIRI retired will correspond to an increasing environmental contribution, which will be reflected accordingly in the certifications users will receive for retiring their tokens.
Once the total supply of TIRI is reduced by a maximum of 75%, the retiring mechanism will be decommissioned in order to prevent the token supply from going to zero. The value increase will be reflected also in the token swap to NaHT - with a higher amount of TIRI burned, 1 token will equal a higher number of NaHT.
Community Engagement
TicoRico places significant emphasis on community engagement and involvement in conservation. The blockchain infrastructure allows for decentralized participation, where users not only support conservation efforts but also take an active role in governance. As the project grows, the community may be invited to participate in decision-making processes regarding future land acquisitions or conservation strategies, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment among token holders.
To increase user engagement and promote long-term involvement, TicoRico will implement a gamification strategy where token holders receive ranks, badges, or other cosmetic rewards based on their contributions and interactions within the ecosystem. Users will be granted virtual points through their interaction with the ecosystem, including retiring TIRI tokens, referring new users to the ecosystem and more (expanded throughout the next two stages of project development).
Below is an example of the rank hierarchy we are envisioning for the first phase. Keep in mind that this is merely an example and is subject to changes throughout the project development. The goal is to highlight the potential advantages and use cases users will get access to.
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Rank hierarchy |
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Level 1 - Supporter |
Requirement:
Rewards:
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Level 2 - Savior |
Requirement:
Rewards:
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Level 3 - Protector |
Requirement:
Rewards:
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Level 4 - Guardian |
Requirement:
Rewards:
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The platform will include leaderboards showcasing the top contributors to conservation efforts, further enhancing engagement. Users could share their achievements on social media, increasing project visibility and community involvement.
Referral System
A referral program will also incentivize users to bring new participants into the ecosystem, further driving token adoption. Gamification and referrals will enhance the project's customer lifetime value (CLV), ensuring long-term sustainability.
Digital platform
The TicoRico digital platform would serve as a central hub for users to engage with the project, primarily enabling them to retire TIRI tokens in exchange for environmental certifications, representing their contributions to land preservation, CO2 offsetting, or sustainable farming initiatives. Users will also be able to see their current gamification rank, get important updates around the project development, access the referral system and more. This platform will later evolve into a broader ecosystem, supporting additional features in NatureHero (Phase 2).
Below is a description of how the platform could work and the key features it should include:
User profiles: Users would be able to create accounts, view their balance of TIRI tokens, and track their token usage and environmental contributions. This is also where users will connect their external wallet (e.g Metamask) to be used for the withdrawal of TIRI tokens automatically for the retirement process.
Environmental impact tracking: Each user will have a detailed overview of their contributions, including how much land has been preserved or how much CO2 has been offset based on the amount of TIRI tokens they’ve retired. This gives users a clear picture of their environmental impact, fostering ongoing engagement.
Retirement mechanism: Users would have the ability to retire (burn) their TIRI tokens through a simple interface. This action would trigger the removal of tokens from circulation and automatically generate an environmental certification in the form of a NFT.
Gamification overview: Depending on the amount of TIRI burned and their current value, users would also be rewarded with points for the gamification program, the ranks of which will entitle them to preferential conditions for future project phases, further incentivizing token retirement.
Users will be able to trace everything directly in their account.
Impact reports
The platform will offer custom reports to users, summarizing the collective impact of all token retirements, including how much land has been saved, how many trees planted, and the amount of CO2 offset. This data could also be shared with ESG investors or institutional partners looking for measurable environmental impact.
Integration with Future Phases (NatureHero)
- Staking and validator roles: Once NatureHero is launched, the platform will enable users to stake NaHT tokens or become validators to secure the network. Early participants who retired TIRI tokens will be given preferential access to validator roles.
- Funding of preservation initiatives: In the second phase, the platform will also allow users to fund or support additional environmental projects.
- Community-empowered ecosystem: TicoRico will lay out the foundations for NatureHero and the community-empowered character of the whole construct, including all rewards for users contributing towards the further development by engaging with the ecosystem.
- Gamification: The gamification features will be expanded accordingly with the release of the future phases.
Future development: Phase 2 - NatureHero (NH)
NatureHero is the second phase of the TicoRico project, designed to build on the foundations established in Phase 1 by creating an open ecosystem for sustainability initiatives. This phase introduces the dedicated blockchain with its own validators and introducing staking mechanisms for the NaHT token. In this phase, the project takes a major step forward by building its own Layer 1 blockchain, which will support decentralized governance and enable community participation. The NaHT token, which is used to incentivize participation in various sustainability projects, facilitate staking, and allow for the funding of external projects. NatureHero represents the expansion of the project into a community-driven platform that supports a broader array of environmental and sustainability efforts, with decentralized governance and community involvement.
NatureHero serves as a community platform where participants can support and fund external sustainability projects. It incentivizes user participation through rewards and gamification. TicoRico will become an integrated part of NatureHero by evolving into a separate preservation project listed on the platform.
The NaHT token will be the ecosystem’s internal payment and reward token with unlimited minting capacity. The platform will support staking mechanisms and enable users to engage in conservation and sustainability projects. This will provide the basis for the 3rd phase (Natureales), in which external projects will be able to create their own tokens, supported by the NatureHero ecosystem.
Core objectives
Dedicated blockchain and validators
In this phase, TicoRico will launch its own Layer 1 blockchain, transitioning from external blockchain infrastructure (Binance Smart Chain) to a dedicated blockchain environment. This blockchain will run on a Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism, ensuring security and decentralization through a limited number of validators.
Users will be able to stake NaHT tokens to participate in securing the network. By staking their tokens, users will earn rewards based on their participation, contributing to the network’s security while benefiting from regular rewards. Validators will play a critical role in securing the network, validating transactions, and maintaining the overall integrity of the NatureHero ecosystem. Token holders from the TicoRico phase (Phase 1) or users who have retired TIRI tokens will have preferential access to validator roles.
The staking rewards will be generated from transaction fees and newly minted NaHT tokens. Early participants who became validators by holding TIRI tokens will benefit from preferential conditions in staking and governance.
Funding platform for external projects
External projects will have the opportunity to raise funds through the NatureHero platform. These projects, focused on sustainability and environmental causes, as well as agriculture and organic farming, will be able to list themselves and run fundraising campaigns on the platform, enabling community-driven investment. The primary goal is to encourage the community to join by providing additional gamification incentive structures with various rewards. This creates proximity to local ‘small’ projects and represents faster growth.
External projects can leverage the NaHT token as the primary token for their funding activities, ensuring that the platform’s native token remains central to the ecosystem. This provides liquidity and transactional support for projects that are just starting out in the sustainability space. These projects can further contribute to the growth of the platform through, for example, publicly displayed ‘NatureHero Member’ certificates and branding tools.
The platform will feature a marketplace or dashboard where users can browse and discover sustainability projects, each with detailed descriptions of their goals and funding needs. Users can then contribute NaHT tokens to these projects as a form of support.
Incentive structures and gamification
NatureHero will feature a gamification system to increase user engagement and participation that will build upon the gamification program introduced in phase one. Users can earn badges, ranks, and other rewards for completing platform activities such as staking, funding projects, or referring new users. These rewards can provide both cosmetic benefits (profile badges, leaderboards) and additional token rewards. Additionally, the gamification program will provide access to higher staking rewards.
The community will be incentivized to remain engaged through various staking pools, where users can earn rewards based on their long-term commitment to the platform. These incentives are designed to ensure steady user participation and create a vibrant ecosystem.
Governance
Governance will be decentralized in this phase, with staked NaHT tokens giving users voting power. Community members can vote on platform upgrades, validator onboarding, or funding priorities for specific projects. This ensures that decisions are made collectively, promoting decentralized governance.
MLM rewards system
The platform will expand on the previously introduced referral system by incorporating a MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) rewards structure, allowing users to earn progressively as they bring in more referrals. Participants at different levels will be rewarded based on their activity and the activities of their referrals. This system incentivizes users to continually promote NatureHero and expand the community.
Subscriptions
To further drive engagement and provide ongoing value, NatureHero will introduce a subscription model for users who want access to premium features on the platform. The subscription tiers will be payable with USDT or NaHT. Subscribers will get access to an improved overall experience within the ecosystem, including:
- Enhanced rewards and challenges: Subscribers will receive enhanced rewards for participating in NatureHero Challenges (e.g., creating content, posting about environmental topics), earning more NaHT tokens or special rewards compared to non-subscribers.
- Exclusive content and merchandise: Subscribers will get access to exclusive content, including early releases of NatureHero-branded merchandise (e.g., textiles with NFC technology) and premium community tools that help them engage more deeply with the platform.
- Exclusive learning modules: Subscribers will have access to in-depth courses, webinars, and interactive content focused on nature conservation, sustainable agriculture, climate change, and eco-friendly practices. These educational resources will be regularly updated to ensure ongoing learning opportunities.
Educational tools and concepts
NatureHero will include educational tools within the digital platform to teach users about environmental conservation, sustainability, and natural resource management. This feature will provide in-depth courses, webinars, and interactive content related to ecology, climate change, and sustainable practices.
A specialized section of the platform will focus on NatureHero Kids, providing child-friendly educational content to inspire the younger generation to participate in environmental conservation efforts. This initiative will use gamified educational tools and simple learning modules to engage kids in sustainability topics.
All of the educational tools will be accessible completely for free for subscribers. We are also planning on introducing a Learn to Earn mechanism, allowing ecosystem participants to earn NaHT tokens for successfully completing learning programs and their quizzes at the end that test their knowledge.
Social media integration
The project will introduce its own native social media platform that will be built based on the best practices in the sector and will provide a place for discussions between community members about all topics related to nature preservation. Initially, NatureHero will utilize traditional platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn, and X to grow its base and engage with users. The long-term goal is to transition fully to the NatureHero social platform, creating a self-sustaining network within the ecosystem.
Users will be rewarded for posting content and sharing their activities related to environmental awareness. By participating in these challenges, users will earn rewards in NaHT tokens or other platform benefits, helping raise awareness about sustainability while also strengthening the ecosystem’s community.
Global NatureHero events
NatureHero will host both virtual and in-person global events to further connect the community and raise awareness about environmental issues. These events may include webinars, conferences, or local clean-up activities where users earn rewards for participation.
Merchandising and branding
To enhance community engagement and branding, NatureHero will develop a textile brand that includes clothing and accessories embedded with NFC technology. These textiles will link back to the NatureHero platform, allowing users to scan their apparel with mobile devices to interact with the platform, track contributions, or participate in exclusive events. This approach will further strengthen the community bond while spreading awareness through fashion.
The platform will also feature a merchandising market where users can purchase NatureHero-branded products. This market not only serves as a source of revenue for the platform but also helps promote sustainability through eco-friendly products. Additionally, exclusive community-related merchandise will be available to users based on their engagement and ranks earned within the ecosystem.
Transition to phase 3
Phase 2 will lay the groundwork by establishing a secure and scalable blockchain, creating the foundation for more advanced features in the next phase.
As the project progresses toward Phase 3, the use cases of NaHT will expand, making it central to staking, governance, and external project funding. The transition to Natureales will involve the possibility for the creation of sidechains or independent blockchains for external projects through a comprehensive SDKs (software development kits) and easy to use tools.
Future development: Phase 3 - Natureales
The third phase of the TicoRico project, Natureales, envisions creating a custom blockchain that not only serves the core project but also allows external projects to launch their own tokens, with their own validators. Natureales is envisioned as the culmination of the project, where all the activities from TicoRico and NatureHero converge into a unified, asset-backed ecosystem.
Core objectives
Custom blockchain framework expansion
Natureales will expand its native blockchain to allow for the creation of interoperable blockchains, often referred to as parachains or sidechains. Natureales would act as the main chain, providing security and governance, while external projects could create their own independent tokens and use the underlying blockchain for validation and smart contract execution. Currently, we are considering using any modular frameworks such as Polkadot's Substrate or Cosmos SDK, with Cosmos being favored at this point of our planning.
The blockchain would use a Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism, a hybrid of Proof of Stake (PoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA). In PoSA, a limited set of validators are pre-approved and are required to stake tokens to validate transactions and secure the network. External projects could either use the main chain’s validators or deploy their own set of validators on sidechains.
The Natureales blockchain would support Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible smart contracts, allowing external projects to deploy their own tokens using familiar standards like ERC-20 (for fungible tokens) or ERC-721 (for NFTs). This makes it easy for external developers to create and launch tokens without needing to build an entirely new blockchain.
External token creation and validators
External projects will be able to create their own tokens within the Natureales ecosystem. This will be done by:
- Deploying smart contracts: Using smart contracts, projects can easily issue tokens that operate on the main Natureales blockchain. For more complex projects, they could opt to launch a sidechain with their own validators, allowing them to have more control.
- Validator requirements: Each external project can set specific requirements for their validators. Validators must stake tokens to participate. This not only secures the network but also incentivizes validators by offering rewards in the form of newly minted tokens from the external project.
- Validator rewards and incentives: Validators will earn rewards through transaction fees or newly minted tokens. For example, external projects could allocate a percentage of transaction fees from their ecosystem to incentivize validators. Validators who stake more tokens could receive higher rewards or take on more validation responsibilities.
Interoperability and Scalability
One of the core advantages of frameworks like Polkadot’s parachains or Cosmos is interoperability. The Natureales blockchain can interact with external blockchains, creating a multi-chain ecosystem. External projects that launch on Natureales could interact with each other or even with other blockchains like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain through bridges.
- Interoperable Smart Contracts: These smart contracts would allow cross-chain transfers and token swaps between the Natureales blockchain and other chains. This expands the functionality for external projects and increases liquidity for the overall ecosystem.
- Scalability: By using a layered approach (main chain for governance and sidechains for external projects), the Natureales blockchain can achieve scalability. Each external project could operate semi-independently, allowing for parallel processing of transactions without overloading the main chain.
Security and governance
Natureales will use a decentralized governance model where validators and stakeholders (token holders) can vote on network upgrades, validator onboarding, or changes to the consensus mechanism.
- Main chain security: Validators on the Natureales main chain will secure the core blockchain through staked tokens, ensuring that transactions are legitimate and the network remains decentralized.
- Sidechain security: Projects that choose to operate their own sidechain will have their own set of validators, secured by staking the project’s native token or the ecosystem’s native token. However, the overall security of the sidechains would still benefit from the main Natureales chain, as any malicious actions on a sidechain could be mitigated through governance mechanisms on the main chain.
Use cases and applications
The main use case will be to offer every external project the possibility for tokenization of assets such as land and natural resources. External projects focused on conservation could tokenize land, water sources, or carbon credits using the Natureales blockchain. These projects could create utility tokens tied to environmental efforts, allowing participants to stake or trade tokens based on conservation results.
In conclusion, the Natureales blockchain will act as both the foundation for the TicoRico project and a platform for external projects to easily create their own tokens, with the flexibility to deploy validators and operate independently. This technical architecture will ensure scalability, interoperability, and security, driving adoption and innovation in conservation and sustainability.
Token sale
Here are the general terms for our token sale:
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General terms |
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Our token sale will unfold in three stages with different discount percentages and conditions.
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Private sale |
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Pre sale |
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Main sale |
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The crowdsale will be performed in accordance with the token purchase agreement as published and available on our website.
Token distribution
A total of 175.595.239 TIRI will be issued. These will be distributed as following:
- Crowdsale - 70%: We will dedicate the majority of the total token distribution to be sold on the crowdsale on the stages we outlined above.
- Community rewards - 15%: These tokens will be specifically reserved for various community rewards such as airdrops.
- Team & Advisors - 10%: One tenth of the total token distribution will be saved for the team & advisors.
- Liquidity - 5%: These tokens will be kept exclusively for external liquidity purposes, such as exchange listings.
Funds distribution
The funds collected on the crowdsale from selling 70% of the total token distribution will be distributed as following:
- Acquisition of land / natural resources - 60% of the total funding: The majority of the funds we collect via the ICO will be used for the acquisition of RWA (real world assets), specifically resource-rich landscapes.
- Ecosystem development - 15% of the total funding: Development costs for the facilitation of the use case of the utility token (e.g for the retirement mechanism) and for the development of the ecosystem.
- Marketing - 15% of the total funding: Will be used to popularize the TicoRico project and promote the overall vision of all development stages.
- Legal and operational costs plus overhead costs - 10% of the total funding: These costs will be saved as a reserve for legal, operational and unforeseen circumstances.
Roadmap
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Timeline |
Milestones |
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October 2024 |
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November 2024 |
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January 2025 |
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March 2025 |
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May 2025 |
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Q3 2025 |
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Q4 2025 |
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Q4 2026 |
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Q1 2027 |
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Team
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Person |
Role |
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Daniel Wehr - CEO
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Advisory board
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Person |
Role |
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Dimitri Haußmann - Blockchain advisor
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Martin Slavchev - Strategy advisor
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Risks and concerns
⚠ Risks of external attack
Unfortunately, scammers are very creative and inventive in their attempts to hack online websites of all kinds. Hackers are focused on finding and exploiting potential weaknesses. Attacks also extend to the open source algorithms of smart contracts, which is why we must consider the risk of attempted hacking of our platform.
⚠ Risks of not getting a widespread adoption
We warn you that we do not guarantee that the project will achieve widespread adoption.
⚠ Regulatory risks of blockchain industry
The blockchain industry is in the initial stage of its regulation. Governments of countries are in the process of studying blockchain technology, and some countries impose restrictions (for example, the United States, China, South Korea). New laws that might come into force in the future could significantly affect the activities of blockchain projects, including TicoRico. We warn you that such laws can significantly limit and even stop the project activity, we are not responsible for the negative consequences associated with the possible regulation of the industry in the future.
⚠ Financial risks
Contributions in cryptocurrency projects carry a big risk. TIRI tokens, like any other cryptocurrency, are subject to strong fluctuations and may decrease in value significantly. We are not responsible for any fluctuations in the value of the token on exchanges. We do not guarantee that there will be an opportunity to exchange TIRI tokens for fiat. TIRI tokens can be used only on the TicoRico platform; they do not grant you the right of voting or ownership in the TicoRico project. The TicoRico project does not guarantee any income, you can incur significant losses.
[3] U.S. Agricultural Land Values and Cropland Cash Rents Reach Record Levels Amid Falling Commodity Prices | Market Intel | American Farm Bureau Federation (fb.org)
[5] BCG, ADDX estimate asset tokenization to reach $16 trillion by 2030 - Ledger Insights - blockchain for enterprise