Our purpose-owned legal structure means that all profits and revenue must go towards furthering our special purpose and growth of our model. The overarching advantage is that we have created a model whereby all contributors are incentivised to ensure activity must serve our specific purpose while also serving each group’s interests.

Advantage v. Other currencies 

To summarise other sections of this document:

1. Wrapped in a solid legal framework with decentralised governance protocols ensuring fair management and distribution of the currency.
2. Backed by an asset (land) that is owned by nature and protects our planet.
3. Land has been a stable asset throughout history.
4. Very low transaction costs / gas fees.
5. Saves the planet and helps support local communities.

Comparison table (we tried to be as objective as possible):

Advantage v. Other land trusts, foundations and nonprofits 

In a word – scale. Traditionally when one donates land to such an organisation, it’s a one-time gift of value which is then protected on behalf of the beneficiary or for the specific purpose of that nonprofit. With our model, we can take that donated land, mint the GST, sell the GST and then buy additional parcels of land with the proceeds, then repeat. At scale this approach could provide a 5x multiple for the donors in terms of impact.

Below is a graph illustrating the process we call the “donation minting cycle”:

Below is an example of a gift of X – losing 15% per cycle to cover the costs of selling GST as well as other legal and administrative costs incurred by the DAO and operational company.

Advantage v. Individual or organisational conservationists (for-profit or nonprofit)  

GST is minted by members crowdfunding the acquisition of land, land owners exchanging their land for GST or benefactors donating land. The common theme is that there is no requirement for a deposit, mortgage or to pay rent on those assets. For any model reliant on land-use, whether for profit or not, one of the biggest economic pressures is the cost of acquiring land and maintaining ongoing payments for its ownership. Our model removes this economic burden. The benefits of this are clear from an economic perspective, but the key is that this burden has also been removed from nature.

This unique approach can unleash the huge potential for conservation because there is no requirement to maximise the ROI of land, which is what has caused the decimation of nature..

There may be millions or billions of individuals in society who dream of running a smallholder farm, an ecotourism business or a reforestation project, working in nature and for the protection of nature. The percentage of people who can realistically act on this dream is a fraction of that total number. Acquiring land for conservation purposes while making a small profit quite simply does not drive enough income or financial stability for 99% of the population.

The current systems make such a transition impossible.

GST DAO provides the foundation for the remaining 99% of people to live that dream as Land Stewards without the risk of financial ruin, burden of a mortgage or reliance on charitable donations.

All this means that being a Land Steward on DAO held land will be among the most attractive propositions for conservationists.

Advantage v. Government – more in section 2.3

This is difficult to address due to the different government structures throughout the world. One common challenge among all governments is the multitude of policies and topics that drive their actions. Within our model those topics and related policies are centred around one core, relatively narrow mission to protect our natural world. A huge benefit for our model is that all decisions within a single ecosystem are less likely to be overshadowed or replaced by other, often more, immediate-term actions.

Advantage v. Conventional business – more in section 2.3

There exists a pressure in for-profit businesses to maximise profit from nature – this unequivocally results in the decimation of our natural world. Meaning that even purpose-driven companies will either not scale due to cost or they will forgo their “purpose” to achieve that desired scale. Even purpose-driven companies are still owned by their actual purpose, which is to drive shareholder value by maximising ROI.

DAOs are member-governed with certain voting rights allocated to its members. This provides an instant connection between the success of any such organisation with its users, consumers, clients, customers or members depending on the structure. Because our unique model aligns those two incentives, in theory, this should create a bond of trust between the members and the organisation because they are one in the same.

Advantage v. Philanthropy – more in section 2.3

One thing is very clear, if charity worked at scale within our economic system then it would no longer be required. This is not the case. The substantial difference between such a model and the Green Standard is that there is a built-in philanthropic environmental and social impact without requiring a donation. Although one should note that philanthropy will be an accelerant for our model.