Trading Soil Like Gold : 'Soilonic' Token Redeemable for 1kg of Soil

Interview with Soilonic Co-Founder Benjamin Eymere

One token gives the holder rights to 1 kilogram of soil

Redemption right rises to 35 kilograms after 10 years

Half of sale proceeds to go to regenerative farms

Nov. 16 launch planned as company seeks South Korean partners

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"Just as people do not keep gold bars at home and instead leave them with a bank, soil can remain on a farm while still be owned," Benjamin Eymere said. "Our goal is to turn healthy soil into an asset traded like gold."

Benjamin Eymere, co-founder and chief executive officer of Soilonic, told Bloomingbit in an interview on Sept. 3 that farmers are not separately compensated for maintaining healthy soil because its value is reflected only in crop prices.

Soilonic is a France-based Web3 startup seeking to link the economic value of regeneratively managed soil to blockchain. Eymere founded the company last year with art curator Victoire de Pourtalès and model and environmental activist Arizona Muse. The company aims to create investment demand for healthy soil by combining agriculture and finance with fashion, art and content.

At the center of the model is SOILO, a Solana-based token. Holders receive the right to redeem a fixed quantity of physical soil. Soilonic said 50% of token-sale proceeds will be distributed each year to regenerative farms that receive third-party certification. The remainder will be used to secure farmland and soil reserves for physical redemptions. The structure is meant to give farmers income beyond crop sales while offering investors redemption rights tied to healthy soil.

Eymere, a former chief executive of global fashion publication L'Officiel, left Paris in 2022 and moved to a farm. He converted a farm that had relied on pesticides and chemical fertilizers to regenerative agriculture. That experience, along with growing crops and turning them into building materials, clothing and artwork, led to Soilonic's creation.

He said the initial plan was to sell carbon credits as compensation for restoring soil, but farmers earned only 50 euros per hectare. Meaningful income, he said, would require valuing healthy soil itself rather than only the crops grown in it.

1 Kilogram of Soil Per Token, Rising to 35 Kilograms in 10 Years

Soilonic gives SOILO holders the right to receive physical soil. One token can be exchanged for 1 kilogram of regenerative soil. If held for 10 years, that redemption amount rises to 35 kilograms.

The terms — 1 kilogram at issuance and 35 kilograms after 10 years — are written into the smart contract and cannot be changed arbitrarily, Eymere said. If a holder sells the token before then, the accumulated holding period and redemption rights transfer to the new owner. The annual redemption ratio between the first and 10th year has not yet been finalized.

SOILO has a maximum supply of 2.1 billion tokens. The initial sale price is set at $0.09 a token. Soilonic is currently conducting a private sale for companies and professional investors. It plans a public launch for retail investors at Solana's annual Breakpoint event in London on Nov. 16. The company intends to release 3% to 4% of total supply into the market first.

Half of token-sale proceeds will be distributed annually to organic and regenerative farms that pass reviews by third-party certifiers. The payments function as a type of soil royalty for maintaining healthy soil. The other half will be retained by the company and used to secure farmland that will serve as backing assets for physical redemption.

Soil reserves are currently located in France and the US. Token holders can visit those sites to collect soil or pay an additional fee for delivery. Soilonic also plans to establish soil reserve sites in Asia.

Soil is already traded as a product in horticulture, landscaping and controlled-environment agriculture. Potting soil and garden soil are sold by weight or volume, with prices varying based on organic matter, microbial content, water retention and intended use.

In France, standard potting soil sells for an average of $1.50 to $2 per kilogram, while specialty soils are much more expensive, Eymere said. Farmland may trade for several thousand dollars per hectare depending on the region, but the retail value of healthy soil on top of that land is far greater. Soilonic's model, he said, is to turn the value of the top 30 centimeters of land — something financial markets have not priced — into an asset.

Beyond Soil Redemption, Into Art and Fashion

Soilonic also operates a Soilo Shop to broaden the token's use cases. Users can spend tokens not only on soil but also on artwork, clothing, toys and related goods. The company plans to offer works created with artists including Tom Sachs.

People living in cities who do not immediately need soil should still be able to use the token, Eymere said. The company wants to combine soil with art, fashion and characters to create a cultural experience.

He said blockchain was chosen because it allows automatic execution of farm compensation and soil redemption rights. Smart contracts can split half of sales proceeds with farms and increase redemption quantities based on holding period.

The company is also pursuing sales to corporations. Carbon credits are closer to a cost that companies buy and use up, Eymere said, while SOILO is a digital asset tied to rights over physical soil. He described it as an attempt to turn environmental and social responsibility into an asset companies can hold.

Soilonic has secured an investment commitment of up to $50 million from Global Emerging Markets, or GEM, he added. The company is also working with GEM to establish a $100 million fund. Its goal is to list a Soilonic entity on Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange or a European exchange within the next 18 to 24 months.

Soilonic Seeks Farm and Content Partners in South Korea

Soilonic plans to use South Korea as its base for entering Asia. The company is seeking local partners to bring South Korean regenerative farms into its compensation program and handle token distribution and corporate sales. Eymere said he discussed potential cooperation with a South Korean tea farm using regenerative methods during his visit.

Content is another pillar of its South Korea strategy. Soilonic has created a character called Soilo modeled on an earthworm, which is commonly found in healthy soil. It plans to use the character in animation, games, fashion and household goods to expand the product lineup in the Soilo Shop.

South Korea is a market with a strong ability to turn characters and intellectual property into global brands, Eymere said. He said he wants to work with South Korean content and marketing companies to make Soilo the world's best-known earthworm character.

Still, legal questions remain over how far SOILO can guarantee rights to physical soil across jurisdictions. Other variables include how the quantity and quality of backing assets will be verified, the cost of removing and shipping soil, and whether cryptocurrency and securities regulations apply.

Eymere said Soilonic is still at an early stage and has not yet launched publicly for retail investors. Even so, he said, putting a price on soil could provide recurring income for farmers who keep it healthy. Blockchain's role, he added, is to move beyond arguing that soil should simply be protected and instead give investors a direct economic stake in that outcome.