Pest Free Token: Web3 for Native Birds.

Pest Free Token is a charitable project utilising blockchain technology to help New Zealand become predator free by 2050.

About Pest Free Token

We deploy traps, fund pest eradication initiatives, and raise community awareness. Our charitable project has two aspects: PFT traps and the $PFT cryptocurrency. The $PFT cryptocurrency is both New Zealand’s first crypto-for-charity and most environmentally friendly cryptocurrency. The project is pioneering the use of this technology in New Zealand’s charitable space.

The Problem? Without technology, our native birds won’t survive.

25 million native birds die each year in New Zealand from introduced pests.. At that rate, future generations will not recognise the sights and sounds of our precious wildlife, including tūī, kererū, and kākā.

We must think differently if we are going to tackle our nation’s problem with predators, like rats, mice, stoats, and possums. An innovative approach is necessary.

The Solution? PFT; New Zealand’s first charitable cryptocurrency

Pest Free Tokens ($PFT) are the cryptocurrency we created to help fund the eradication of introduced pests in New Zealand.

$PFT runs as a smart contract on the Polygon network.

Contract: 0xE6f0523B9DD59ca6166ECecC3Ae7e7cedF77A731

Token Tracker: here [https://polygonscan.com/token/0xE6f0523B9DD59ca6166ECecC3Ae7e7cedF77A731]

The token funds pest eradication through a simple 3% fee on every sell transaction (note: there are no fees on purchases). That 3% fee is automatically distributed between the PFT Charitable Trust and holders of the $PFT token.

Fees allow cryptocurrencies to achieve more than simply capital gains for holders. But don’t worry, you still get to make your capital gains on $PFT, we are just pinching a small amount for New Zealand’s native birds!

Learn more here: www.pestfreetoken.co.nz/token

In addition to our token, our charity builds and distributes physical pest traps (called PFT traps). Our mission is to get a PFT trap in every suburb of New Zealand. When someone catches a pest in their trap, we will reward them with free $PFT crypto tokens (simply scan the QR code on the top of the trap). This incentivises catching pests and gamifies the project. It also gives our cryptocurrency real world application.

Learn more here: www.pestfreetoken.co.nz/traps

💫 Team Values: Transparency, Community, Integrity, and Service.

———————————————- Founding Story

Pest Free Token was born out of a founder’s problem – What more can we do to save our native birds?

The global crypto market is huge. If a small percentage went to pest eradication it would change the game.

The Pest Free Token project launched in April 2022 with the sole purpose of helping New Zealand reach its 2050 predator free targets.

The project was founded by Wellington Lawyer, Patrick Abel, and Wellington IT specialist, Alex McGregor. After launch, Harrison Bissell and Harry Satoshi joined. All four are avid pest trappers and crypto enthusiasts.

100% of the project’s profit goes to pest eradication. The team take no wage to make sure the project can have a greater impact. Learn more about the team as well as the awesome companies who support us here: www.pestfreetoken.co.nz/about.

Progress and Traction

We launched in April 2022 after almost a year of testing and development. Our token, impact and community continues to enjoy steady growth since.

Current Metrics

💥 250+ token holders and 2,500+ transactions (accessible via Quickswap 💥 500+ traps deployed in 170 suburbs with 500+ pests caught 💥 10,000+ traps rebaited in in the Ruahine Ranges and 1.8km of river stoat protected in Gisborne. 💥 $17,000 raised for pest eradication Want to see the latest stats? Click below for: Project stats [https://pestfreetoken.co.nz/] PFT token stats [https://pestfreetoken.co.nz/tokens] Our Trapmap [https://pestfreetoken.co.nz/traps/map/] (showing all PFT traps nationwide).

Next Steps

In early 2024, we successfully migrated from the BNB Smart Chain to Polygon chain. This ensured the project can continue its growth, with Polygon offering superior technology and opportunities in terms of transparency and automation.

We are currently developing smart contracts to bring trap deployments, catches, project donations, and catch reward payments on chain.

We are aiming to be one of the first projects in New Zealand to achieve such transparency and automation.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes it only takes a few good folks to stand up and make a change. Come join our movement and become part of the positive impact us kiwis pride ourselves on. Our native birds are depending on it.

Furthermore, the innovation behind the Pest Free Token project has an undeniable wider application potential for New Zealand. If you’d like to contribute to our project or discuss how we might be able to assist yours, please contact us at info@pestfreetoken.co.nz.

The Web3 Opportunity

Web3 offers a level of transparency and automation not previously possible. Being a charitable project, transparency is a big factor for us. The success of our charitable Web3 utilisation can be replicated to other projects.

New Zealand’s Web3 Superpower

New Zealand’s superpower is its ability to deliver outside the box thinking and challenge the status quo. The ecosystem requires further support for small projects with legitimate purposes.

Looking to get involved in the joyride of learning and building in Web3?

Whether you are a founder, creator or a curious soul wondering what Web3 has to offer, the Web3NZ community is a peer to peer learning platform and connection ecosystem that encourages and supports anyone who would like to learn, collaborate and innovate in Web3 🚀

👤 Co-Founder: Patrick Abel Patrick is a lawyer with national and international experience in charitable endeavours. He runs one of Wellington’s largest traplines and spends much of his spare time outdoors tramping, hunting, or fishing. He has been involved in crypto since 2019 and sees PFT as an innovative way of doing good.

👤 Co-Founder: Alex McGregor

Alex is an IT professional with many years industry experience working for charities, organisations involved in pest eradication, and large corporates. He became involved with crypto nearly 5 years ago and sees this project as a way of combining several of his passions for the benefit of New Zealand.

👤 Director and Trustee: Harrison Bissell

Harrison loves a chat and a good cause. Coming from adventure tourism and ski industries, he’s spent countless hours in the mountains and bush, both in NZ and abroad. With an Economics degree under his belt, he reckons it doesn’t take a genius to see the potential benefit PFT offers to NZ’s great outdoors.

👤 Consultant: Harry Satoshi

Harry is a Christchurch based social entrepreneur and hunter dedicated to empowering New Zealand reach its 2050 Predator Free goal. He passionately believes in the potential of decentralized currency and its utility for charity, and knows his vast expertise will strengthen our quest to save native birds.