Ex-WeWork Boss’ Empty Promises Collapse Climate Token Scheme

• Adam Neumann’s carbon crypto project sees the same fate as his WeWork venture.
• Flowcarbon blames opposition from carbon credit registries and market conditions for investor refunds.
• The firm has not confirmed if it will be completely shuttering operations.

Flowcarbon, a climate-focused cryptocurrency carbon credit startup from the brains of former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, has reportedly begun refunding investors after failing to launch.

Flowcarbon Flops

According to Forbes , the sudden refunds were because of Flowcarbon’s inability to deliver on its commitment to launch its Goddess Nature Token (GNT), which fell short of its initial promises.

Flowcarbon, founded in 2022, was positioned as a climate-centric project that would tokenize carbon credits.

However, other than receiving significant funding from a16z and others, who notably led a $70 million funding round in 2022, it’s hard to tell if Flowcarbon has achieved anything in the following years.

According to Flowcarbon, the project faced opposition from carbon registries and poor market conditions, which it cites as reasons behind the refunds. A Flowcarbon spokesperson told Forbes that the firm has been offering refunds for retail GNT.

“It’s well known that since last year we have been offering refunds to retail GNT buyers due to the industry delays, with standard and customary terms, as we continue to grow Flowcarbon as a leader in carbon finance.”

This would imply that Flowcarbon is yet to completely unplug itself from the market. However, given that Flowcarbon’s troubles echo the broader woes of carbon credit, it’s hard to tell which direction they’ll be able to go from here.

Crypto Carbon Credits

Through Flowcarbon, GNT purchasers would be buying a token that was backed 1:1 with carbon credits, which are simply certifications that big companies purchase to “offset” their own emissions.

The credits represent a whole metric ton of carbon dioxide removed or prevented from entering into Earth’s atmosphere. The market has received criticism for “greenwashing ” the pollution of the planet instead of actually fixing their in-house emissions.

Numerous reports have found that “net zero” efforts with carbon credits are effectively useless and could contribute to worsening climate conditions. The tokenization of carbon credits was considered a plus for the market as anyone could now purchase them on the blockchain.

While the likes of Moss, Nori, and KlimaDAO are making strides in the crypto carbon credit market, much like Adam Neumann’s Flowcarbon, they’re not quite able to gain any meaningful traction for one reason or another.