Virtus: If We Can Finance Bitcoin, We Can Finance Nature
Welcome to the August edition of our Virtus newsletter!
This month, we’re tracking both wins and setbacks in climate finance — from innovative blended-finance models in Brazil’s Cerrado and Europe’s newest impact-tech fund, to sobering research showing trillions still fueling deforestation.
In Our Take, Sean draws lessons from Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin playbook to propose the Climate Enhancement Facility for Assurance & Risk (CEFAR) — a model to mobilize billions into nature-based climate solutions.
On Untangling Climate Finance, Jodi Manning, CEO of Cool Effect, reflects on a decade of climate action and how transparency, integrity, and education are reshaping the voluntary carbon market. We also highlight Sean’s appearance on The Future of Finance, where he shares our mission to mobilize $1B annually by 2030 and the role of nature-based solutions.
In What We’re Absorbing, we spotlight Alexia Kelly’s new Navigating Net Zero podcast, a timely look at Spain’s blackout and renewables, and Bill McKibben’s latest call to harness the power of the sun. And in Climate Finance Deals, we feature a $60M Cerrado soy fund, a €57M European impact-tech fund, and the Forest 500 report’s stark reminder of capital still driving deforestation.
Wishing you a happy rest of summer!
Gordian Knot Strategies
We are Igniting Climate Solutions: Mobilizing $1 Billion Per Year in Impact Investment by 2030!
Written by: Sean Penrith
Michael Saylor of Strategy Inc. (formerly Micro Strategy) is many things: a visionary, a provocateur, and, depending on whom you ask, either a reckless gambler or a financial genius. But regardless of where one stands on his bold bet, there’s no denying this: Saylor has fundamentally changed how the market thinks about corporate balance sheets, debt instruments, and the intersection of capital markets with unconventional assets.
What’s fascinating is that his playbook for Bitcoin (controversial as it is) may actually hold important lessons for one of the most urgent challenges of our time: financing nature-based climate solutions in emerging economies.
Let me explain.
Michael Saylor, the outspoken executive chairman of Strategy Inc., has become something of a legend in the financial world. His radical strategy of raising billions through bond issuance to buy Bitcoin has been described as everything from reckless gambling to visionary genius. But whatever the label, there’s no denying that Saylor has accomplished something extraordinary. He has single-handedly bent the capital markets to finance what he believed in, on a scale few thought possible.[1]
The core of his playbook is striking in its audacity. Saylor treats Bitcoin not as a speculative bet, but as a core treasury reserve asset. He didn’t wait for profits to slowly accumulate and then acquire the assets; instead, he tapped the bond markets again and again. Convertible senior notes, senior secured notes, and even at-the-market equity offerings, every financial lever was pulled to raise cash, which he has deployed with near-military discipline into massive Bitcoin purchases. Some of the bonds carried coupon rates close to zero, thanks to the allure of conversion options tied to Strategy Inc. stock. Others carried higher yields but still drew institutional buyers who wanted exposure to Saylor’s bet.[2]
To read the rest of this paper, click here.
Client Served in the United States:
In early 2025, we partnered with a client to develop the Verified Carbon Market (VCM+) Roadmap, a practical strategy to strengthen trust, integrity, and scalability in the voluntary carbon market. Drawing on insights from more than 40 major reports, nearly a dozen interviews, and a two-day forum with 200 stakeholders, we identified common challenges and distilled them into seven priority areas for coordinated action – each with strategic initiatives, budgets, timelines, and KPIs. The Roadmap will launch publicly at New York Climate Week next month.
“The engagement with Gordian Knot Strategies was very helpful in focusing our execution on the tasks that are most important to launching our project.”
Jeff Thiel – President & COO, Vitidore
🎙️ In this episode, Jodi Manning, CEO of Cool Effect, explores how transparency, integrity, and education are shaping the future of the voluntary carbon market. She shares Cool Effect’s rigorous approach to project vetting, having reviewed over 10,000 carbon projects, and highlights the importance of price transparency, site-level due diligence, and community impact. Jodi also discusses rising demand for removals and super pollutant reductions, and how individuals can take meaningful climate action alongside corporate players.
Click any of the links below to listen!
In case you missed it earlier this month, our founder and CEO, Sean Penrith, was a guest on The Future of Finance, a podcast hosted by Georges Dyer.
Sean discussed Gordian Knot Strategies’ mission to mobilize $1 billion annually by 2030 to accelerate climate action. The conversation touched on the complexities of voluntary and compliance carbon markets, the promise of nature-based solutions like reforestation and peatland restoration, and the challenges of aligning financial returns with real impact. Georges and his team created a space for a candid and systems-level discussion on how capital can be deployed more effectively, and with integrity, in the face of the climate crisis.
We’re grateful to Georges and his team at the Intentional Endowments Network for the opportunity and encourage you to tune in to hear their wide-ranging conversation.
Click any of the links below to listen!
Below is a curated selection of standout opportunities brought to you by GKS’s valued clients.
ReSeed: Agriculture Carbon Credits
ReSeed partners with smallholder farmers globally, helping to improve livelihoods, protect vital lands, and ensure ecosystem services are properly recognized and rewarded. Through these efforts, ReSeed generates agricultural carbon credits that drive sustainability. Click here to explore their projects.
Savory Foundation: Carbon Removal Credits – Uruguay Grasslands Regeneration Project
The Savory Foundation along with the Savory Institute, Pampa Oriental, and Cultivo are now offering nature-based carbon removal credits from their Uruguay Grasslands Regeneration Project. This groundbreaking project spans 115,00 hectares, employing Savory’s Holistic Management framework to restore grasslands while supporting local communities and ecosystems.
The project, under Verra’s VM0032 Methodology for Sustainable Grasslands, anticipates an annual issuance of around 152,000 credits, beginning in 2026, and addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, 13: Climate Action, 15: Life of Land, and 17: Partnership for the Goals.
To learn more about this project and its impact, click here.
If you want to connect about the project, email us here.
This month, we’re absorbing a new podcast, a gripping take on Spain’s blackout and renewables, and Bill McKibben’s call to harness the sun.
📚 The legendary Bill McKibben is back with a powerful call to action. In his new book – “Here Comes the Sun” – he argues that abundant, low-cost solar and wind energy may be our best shot at reshaping not only the climate fight but also our politics and economy. From citizen-led solar revolutions to California’s rapid shift away from natural gas, McKibben highlights both the urgency and the hope of this moment, reminding us that the sun can fuel more than just our grid, but a fairer, more humane future.
🎙️ As many of our readers know, Jay lives in Spain and experienced April’s nationwide blackout firsthand, which makes this episode from Zero – “The 100-Ton Rotating Mass That Can Stop Blackouts” – especially compelling for us. Bloomberg Green’s Laura Millan joins host Akshat Rathi to explore what really caused the outage, whether solar was to blame, and the technologies that could help prevent blackouts in a renewable-powered future.
🎙️ We’re excited to dig into a new podcast series called “Navigating Net Zero” from our colleague Alexia Kelly, an internationally recognized climate expert. This podcast brings practitioners and leaders into candid conversations about the real-world challenges and opportunities of corporate decarbonization. From demystifying complex policies to sharing on-the-ground experiences, Navigating Net Zero offers practical insights for today’s, and tomorrow’s, climate leaders.
This month’s climate finance deals spotlight sustainable ag, impact tech, and blended finance. While a new report shows billions still fueling deforestation 😡 Click the title for the link.
Responsible Commodities Facility Provides $60m to Brazilian Farmers
The Responsible Commodities Facility raised $60M through green bonds backed by the UK, Netherlands, and IDB Invest to provide low-interest loans for deforestation-free soy production in Brazil’s Cerrado, marking one of the largest blended-finance vehicles for sustainable agriculture in the region. The fund’s diversified structure earned an S&P br AA rating, helping attract institutional capital beyond traditional impact investors.
Norrsken Evolve Launches €57M Fund to Back “Impact Tech”
The Norrsken Foundation has unveiled a €57M pre-seed fund to back early-stage startups at the intersection of sustainability, deep tech, and resilience, with LPs including the European Investment Fund, SmartCap Green Fund, and Saminvest. Offering €250k upfront and follow-on capital, the fund targets 20–30 companies annually across sectors like renewable energy, biotech, and next-gen materials, aiming to scale Europe’s next wave of impact-tech leaders.
$8.9 Trillion Fuels Deforestation, Finance Sector Slammed
A new Forest 500 report finds financial institutions poured $8.9 trillion into companies driving deforestation in 2024, with only 40% maintaining a public deforestation policy—down from 45% the year before. Major players like Vanguard, BlackRock, and JPMorgan together financed over $1.6T to high-risk firms, while banks in China contributed $401B alone. Researchers warn this policy backsliding undermines global climate and nature goals, showing the sector is still complicit in forest loss despite a decade of commitments.
The Environmental Defense Fund, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify a fund manager for the groundbreaking Dairy Impact Fund – a first-of-its-kind blended finance vehicle designed to accelerate the adoption of methane-reducing practices on dairy farms.
With an initial $10 million commitment from a lead investor and additional fundraising underway, the fund will offer low-cost, revolving loans paired with incentives from dairy companies to help farmers overcome financial barriers to sustainability. By partnering with farmers’ existing lenders and dairy buyers, the fund aims to streamline access to tailored financing while supporting the U.S. dairy sector—including members of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance—in meeting their methane reduction targets. Proposals are due by September 1, and we encourage you to share this opportunity with fund managers in your network.
To access the RFP, click here.
At Gordian Knot Strategies, we’re building a global database of impact investors to help mobilize $1 billion annually in climate finance by 2030. If your organization is interested in providing funding for climate or environmental projects, we invite you to fill out our Impact Investor Information Form. Your contact details will remain confidential, and we’ll only connect you with aligned opportunities. There is no fee to participate.
To access the form click here.
Interested in connecting with us on climate finance, impact investment, climate solutions strategy, or carbon credit development and commercialization?
Book a 30-minute conversation with Gordian Knot Strategies here to discuss how we can support your goals.
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