Inside Fedrok AG: Building a Transparent Carbon Credit Ecosystem | HackerNoon

In a candid discussion with HackerNoon, the leadership team of Fedrok AG detail their journey into establishing a blockchain solution for the carbon credit market. The conversation sheds light on the technical challenges and innovative strategies designed to inject transparency and trust into an industry long plagued by opacity. With a focus on measurable data and sustainable practices, the interview provides insight into how Fedrok AG aims to transform environmental finance through decentralized technology.

Ishan Pandey: Hi Dr. Philip Blazdell and Mr Walid Ouhida, welcome to our ‘Behind the Startup’ series. Please share your journey and what inspired you to create a blockchain solution for the carbon credit market. We would love to hear about your experience in founding Fedrok AG.

Dr. Philip Blazdell: The original idea had its genesis in a quiet distrust of the opaqueness of the carbon credits market. Once we really begun to dive deeper into this the feeling of uncertainty and unease grew. As an old-school engineer, who believes that if something can not be measured it does not exist, I found the market to be overly complex, open to unscrupulous behaviour. It seemed to be a problem that needed an elegant solution that could be scalable, transparent, and universal.

Walid Ouhida: Our aim has always been to create solutions for real-world problems and to find a way to empower as many people as possible. We have seen the impact of small, grassroots projects in areas such as trash for cash and within the circular economy. We wanted to replicate this on a truly massive scale. We looked at many different solutions before settling on developing our own solutions.

One of the major challenges we face is bringing trust to a marketplace that is currently perceived by many as opaque, open to significant greenwashing, and, honestly, failing its users. We set out to build our company and technology to be beyond repute. This led us to domicilling the company in Switzerland where the degree of financial and operational scrutiny drives companies to both operational excellence and continuous improvement in their daily operations.

Ishan Pandey: Fedrok AG introduces an innovative “Proof of Green” consensus mechanism. Could you explain how this transforms traditional PoW mining into an environmentally friendly process, and what impact you’ve seen so far?

Walid Ouhida: It is still very early days for us and we are only just beginning to see the impact of our consensus mechanism. Combined mining is our answer to the problem. In simple words whenever a bitcoin miner uses environmentally clean, sustainable energy to generate bitcoin they also seamlessly generate Fedrok coins in our blockchain. This additional revenue should incentivize them to move to cleaner energy usage.

By doing so not only we make the overall Bitcoin network greener, but also make our own Fedrok blockchain decentralized as Bitcoin is without sacrificing the performance as now our consensus relies on them. However, the feedback from stakeholders is favorable now and the future is beginning to look evermore exciting. As with any new, disruptive technology, we still face the challenges of changing the status quo and convincing people who are deeply embedded in a way of thinking that FEDROK does not represent the end of something but the beginning of everything.

Ishan Pandey: The carbon credit market faces significant challenges with standardization and transparency. How does Fedrok’s blockchain technology and the FDK token address these issues?

Dr. Philip Blazdell: Our fascination with the marketplace has certainly shown us the lack of transparency and standardisation. The carbon credits marketplace should bridge the gap between sustainable innovation and financial initiatives. As a team, we firmly believe that the carbon credits market is a mechanism for hope, a way to fund change while measuring progress. The only way to drive this is to ensure a level playing field where data is without repute.

Blockchain has the potential to bring transparency and trust to the carbon credits market, making every transaction verifiable and immutable. Using blockchain for carbon credits is not just about reducing emissions, it’s about building trust in a system that rewards sustainable actions. Once this trust is established, the FDK coin, which will ultimately be linked to the price of a carbon credit, will be available to the 8 billion stakeholders currently alive on Earth who wish to participate in fighting climate change.

Ishan Pandey: As a Swiss-registered blockchain company, how does regulatory compliance shape your approach to business, and what advantages does this bring to your stakeholders?

Walid Ouhida: Registering the company in Switzerland was always the plan as we are great admirers of its financial systems and reputation. Our market research told us that the world trusts Switzerland because of its steadfast commitment to financial integrity and legal precision. When the world seeks a benchmark for financial excellence, it looks to Switzerland.

For example, being a member of the VQF (Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen – the Financial Services Standards Association in Switzerland) has given us a rigorous framework for all financial activities. This has led us to embed the ethos of continuous development, management certificates such as ISO 9001, 14001, and 27001, and zero trust architecture into our core operational plan. Stakeholders can feel reassured that not only do we have strict procedures and policies in place, but they are overseen by the Swiss authorities. It also ensures that we have no scope for operational complacency and continually need to improve. As a company, we take pride in our approach to always exceeding the legal requirements in an everchanging and complex legislative framework.

Ishan Pandey: Your combined mining mechanism allows miners to participate in both Fedrok and other blockchains simultaneously. Could you elaborate on how this works technically and its benefits for miners?

Dr. Philip Blazdell: As mentioned, when a miner is green/sustainable it also participate in block generating in Fedrok. So instead of having heavy POW consensus Fedrok just relies on Bitcoin’s decentralization and the next block generator is picked by the Bitcoin network. We stand on the shoulders of giants and see further.

And once block generator is chosen we keep generating blocks every second making it the quickest blockchain that is still decentralized, at least as much as bitcoin. On the other hand, Bitcoin miners who became green get their rewards on the Fedrok chain as miners as well. They can delegate their block-generating abilities to someone on the Fedrok chain so that they wouldn’t need any effort other than becoming green to receive our Carbon Credit related coins.

Ishan Pandey: Fedrok AG is self-funded and focuses on long-term sustainability. How does this business model influence your development strategies and partnerships?

Walid Ouhida: Self-funding was a conscious decision as we believe that investing our own money in a project shows people how passionate we are about this work. Our aim has not been to create a huge degree of wealth, but instead to touch the lives of billions of people on this planet. Furthermore, being self-funded allowed us to move quicker, focus entirely on our vision, and not have to shift due to investor requirements.

From the genesis of the project to launch we have had several major changes of direction and the freedom to follow the changing legislative landscape and technological needs. We have always had to be rigorous in our approach and planning and have embedded the ethos of Plan-Do-Check-Act into the business. This has led to some colourful and robust discussions but equally allowed us to laser down on the core mission of the company, without potentially alienating investors.

Similarly, we have been cautious in selecting partners and have been lucky enough to partner with people who see our core mission as a vocation, not a job. As a company owner, building trust and passion in a team constantly under pressure and expected to disrupt embedded technology is a rewarding experience.

Ishan Pandey: The FDK coin is directly linked to carbon credits. Could you explain this relationship and how it helps standardize the global carbon credit market?

Dr. Philip Blazdell: Well each time bitcoin miner generates Bitcoins they also generate Fedrok coins. As the miners were green they, in all other equals, would reduce carbon output and therefore would be eligible for real-life carbon credits from some institutions. This means the FDKs are a direct representation of those Carbon Credits. Once the rules are clear, and no one can print Carbon Credits out of thin air, it’s transparent and traceable. It’s the best solution to become the golden standard for the globe, don’t you think?

Ishan Pandey: What role do you see Fedrok playing in the broader fight against climate change, particularly in engaging governments and enterprises?

Walid Ouhida: We have seen the massive impact small, grass-roots projects can have when people become engaged locally and how this leads to global change. We hope that we ultimately empower 8 billion people to participate in addressing climate change through our platform, however, Fedrok has a responsibility to scale this to larger enterprises and governments and we hope that this happens sooner rather than later. This will likely come from public pressure on companies and governments to authenticate emissions reductions and avoid “greenwashing” accusations. As we move towards 2030 there will be a greater industrial need to report ESG credentials in a transparent and honest manner, which will be possible via Fedrok.

Ishan Pandey: How does Fedrok’s EVM compatibility facilitate the development of sustainability-focused applications, and what types of DApps do you envision being built on your platform?

Dr. Philip Blazdell: Well yes, it’s an EVM therefore nearly every DApp You Know can run on it from day one, and they will. However what we aim is to monopolize DApps related to net zero. The number of those DApps have steady growth and they usually choose blockchains by different criteria. Fedrok should probably be the most appealing to them, as it’s quick, affordable, and sustainable. It also is positioning itself as everything net zero chain. Most importantly the native coin is already related to Carbon Credits, so when building a DApp related to those, it’s easier to build it around our coins.

Ishan Pandey: Looking ahead, what are your plans for expanding Fedrok’s influence in both the blockchain and environmental sustainability sectors?

Walid Ouhida: We are still early on in our journey and the future, though hard to define, looks exciting. the key to expansion will always be lead by addressing real-world challenges in a way that is both elegant, transparent, and beneficial to as many people as possible. Each day we start by asking ourselves: ‘What can we do better today, how can we improve by 1%?.’

However, our vision is always tempered by the needs of society and industry. We spend a lot of time sitting down with global stakeholders, listening to their needs and worries. In the last week alone, we have had discussions with a waste collective in Asia and a pharmaceutical company in South America to understand their economic, social, and technological needs. We will continue to recruit passionate, driven, and ethical people to the team and hope to inspire other blockchains and start-ups to follow in our footsteps. In this way, we can continue to help shape both the blockchain and carbon credits narrative.

Don’t forget to like and share the story!