---
title: what a nature bank could be
canonical_url: https://ensurance.app/guide/what-a-nature-bank-could-be
markdown_url: https://ensurance.app/guide/what-a-nature-bank-could-be.md
subtitle: "accounts, currencies and reserves for a living place, and what is not a bank"
category: nature-finance
---

# what a nature bank could be

*accounts, currencies and reserves for a living place, and what is not a bank*

Ask a wetland regulator, a city planner, an impact investor, a banker and a crypto builder what a nature bank is, and you get a marsh, a vacant lot, a fund, a charter and a wallet. The watershed, the forest and the species living there exist whether or not anyone opens an account for them. [**Ensurance**](/?from=guide) is part of how their keeping gets paid for. It is not the watershed, and it is not a bank.

**What is a nature bank?** In our use, a nature bank is a set of accounts, currencies and reserves organized around keeping one living place alive: money that reaches the place and its keepers, never a claim on the place. It is not a licensed bank, takes no deposits and pays no interest.

It is the money layer of what we call a [nature state](/guide/what-is-a-nature-state?from=guide).

:::johnson
**a nature bank is not a bank. it is accounts, currencies and reserves organized around a living place.**

Today a place can hold an account and be paid in dollars or euros. Local currencies, two kinds of reserve and physical hubs come next, built with others.

[suggest a currency for your place →](/general/create?mode=suggest&from=guide)
:::

## five things called a nature bank

| what it is called | what it actually holds | is it a bank? |
|---|---|---|
| Mitigation or habitat bank | Restored land that sells credits to offset permitted damage elsewhere | No. A regulated land deal |
| Land bank | Vacant and abandoned property held by a public entity | No. A public authority |
| Natural capital investment | Contracts or fund stakes in measured ecological outcomes | No. An investment vehicle |
| Licensed bank or credit union | Customer deposits, loans and capital under a charter | Yes |
| Protocol account for a place | A wallet addressed to a living place, signed by named people | No. An account on a public ledger |

The US Environmental Protection Agency defines a mitigation bank as an aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced or, in certain circumstances, preserved "for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts" permitted under Clean Water Act Section 404. That is a land deal with a ledger on top ([a habitat bank is a land deal](/guide/a-habitat-bank-is-a-land-deal?from=guide)). An urban land bank is "a public entity" for vacant and abandoned property. The Landbanking Group, despite its name, builds measurement and Nature Equity contracts, which it calls "a new asset class" and "the hardest currency for nature." Currency language, not a bank or a deposit taker.

**A protocol account is not a deposit.** In the United States, deposits at insured banks are covered by the FDIC, and shares at federally insured credit unions by the NCUA, generally up to $250,000. The FDIC lists crypto assets as not covered. On our reading, that includes a dollar stablecoin, which is a claim on its issuer ([a stablecoin is a dollar with an address](/guide/a-stablecoin-is-a-dollar-with-an-address?from=guide)).
## what is already built

The last row exists today on Base, a public blockchain network. A place, a species or a purpose can hold an **account** in its own name: an agent with a wallet, signed by the named people who hold its token. The account addresses the place and does not speak for it ([a place and a purpose can hold an account](/guide/a-place-and-a-purpose-can-hold-an-account?from=guide)). It grants no authority over anyone; existing and customary rights come first ([community land rights come first](/guide/community-land-rights-come-first?from=guide)).

A **certificate** for a named natural asset can be priced in USDC or EURC (dollar and euro stablecoins issued by Circle), among other supported currencies. The primary sale price goes to the recipient the certificate names, in the same transaction ([paid on arrival](/guide/paid-on-arrival?from=guide), [the money you trust is already onchain](/guide/the-money-you-trust-is-already-onchain?from=guide)).

From there, **splits, swappers and streams** (contracts that divide, convert and drip money over time) route funded balances on ([proceeds](/proceeds?from=guide)). Nothing converts automatically on arrival; a swap needs a market ([any coin, steady money](/guide/any-coin-steady-money?from=guide)). **Coins and pools** exist too, and they are small ([what protocol owned liquidity can and cannot buy](/guide/what-protocol-owned-liquidity-can-and-cannot-buy?from=guide)).

What is not built: scheduled crew payroll; automatic distributions to certificate holders, none of which has been paid; and entrusted land, since no parcel is recorded at entrust yet. When land is entrusted, the instruments will have no claim on it.

**An account addressed to a living place is the smallest working part of a nature bank, and nothing in it is a deposit.**

## what we want to build

None of this section is live.

**Currencies that circulate around a place.** Our founder's earliest notes, from 2022, imagined a regional bank issuing a local currency backed by regional natural capital. Backing turns the place into collateral, so the rule today is that a currency is based on the living place and is never a claim on it ([living money](/guide/living-money?from=guide)). What survives is the local circuit: a steward paid in a local unit has to be able to spend it ([money that acts like nature](/guide/money-that-acts-like-nature?from=guide)). Wages are still owed in money people can spend today.

**Two reserves.** Water held in a meadow cannot make payroll, and cash cannot refill an aquifer this summer. So: one reserve of ecological capacity, one of spendable money for care and pay. We would count them separately and not pledge one against the other. Who would hold the money reserve is undecided.

**A front door on a street.** Since 2024 the founder has sketched nature-bank hubs: a former bank branch reused for community work, keeping the name because the building was a bank. Stewardship coordination, training, and a desk for stewards. No teller window; nothing is deposited there.

To be plain: no bank charter, no deposit taking, no interest. Whether a licensed partner such as a credit union ever plays a role is an open question, not a plan.

## build it with us

| who | what you bring | what *ensurance* brings |
|---|---|---|
| Bioregional currency groups | Members, merchants, a unit in use | Accounts addressed to places, payment rails |
| Credit unions and community lenders | A charter, member trust, banking relationships | Dollars and euros arriving onchain, routed to named recipients |
| Local-currency and onchain groups | Hard lessons in circulation, tools | Coins, pools and splits to test with |

A place brings the living asset the whole thing is based on.

Run a local currency? [Suggest it as a coin](/general/create?mode=suggest&from=guide). An onchain group? [See what we build with groups](/solutions/onchain-groups?from=guide&topic=nature-state). Working across a watershed? [See how a regional body pools funding](/solutions/regional-collaboratives?from=guide&topic=nature-state). A lender? [Talk to us](/contact?from=guide&topic=nature-state).

## frequently asked questions

### is ensurance a bank?

No. It holds no charter, takes no deposits and pays no interest. It gives living places accounts and routes payments to them.

### is money in a place's account insured?

No. Federal deposit insurance covers deposits at insured banks (FDIC) and federally insured credit unions (NCUA). A stablecoin is a claim on its issuer under its terms, and the FDIC lists crypto assets as not covered.

### can a place hold an account without a bank?

Yes. On a public ledger, an agent for a place can hold a wallet and receive dollar or euro stablecoins directly. Turning them into a bank balance needs an exchange or off-ramp that serves your country.

## sources

[US EPA, Mitigation banks under CWA Section 404](https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/mitigation-banks-under-cwa-section-404) — Definition of a mitigation bank; preservation in certain circumstances

[Center for Community Progress, Land banks](https://communityprogress.org/resources/land-banks/) — A land bank as a public entity for vacant, abandoned and deteriorated property

[The Landbanking Group, Nature Equity](https://www.thelandbankinggroup.com/nature-equity) — Nature Equity as "a new asset class" that "strives to be the hardest currency for nature"

[FDIC, Understanding deposit insurance](https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/understanding-deposit-insurance) — $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category; crypto assets not covered

[NCUA, Share insurance coverage](https://ncua.gov/consumers/share-insurance-coverage) — Share deposits at federally insured credit unions, generally up to $250,000

## the series

1. [a network state starts online. a nature state starts on the land.](/guide/what-is-a-nature-state?from=guide) — **Read first:** What a nature state is, what is already built, and what we want to build with others
2. [what a nature bank could be](/guide/what-a-nature-bank-could-be?from=guide) — Accounts, currencies and reserves for a living place, and what is not a bank
3. [the people who keep a place alive should be able to live there](/guide/the-people-who-keep-a-place-alive-should-be-able-to-live-there?from=guide) — Real pay first, then a home that does not hang on a job or a token price
4. [a village that starts with what not to build](/guide/a-village-that-starts-with-what-not-to-build?from=guide) — One illustrative place: a protected core, homes on the right ground, a lodge that can fail safely
5. [one token can't be your home, your vote and your visit](/guide/one-token-cant-be-your-home-your-vote-and-your-visit?from=guide) — Separate rights for protection, residence, visits, money and voice
6. [from popup city to places that fund each other](/guide/from-popup-city-to-places-that-fund-each-other?from=guide) — A month-long city leaves; the watershed stays. An invitation to build the network