New crypto Pest Free Token (PFT) protects New Zealand’s native birds

As every Kiwi knows non-native predators, such as possums, rats, and stoats are responsible for the decimation of native bird populations in New Zealand. Patrick Abel and Alex McGregor, two passionate Kiwis, are leveraging cryptocurrency technology to make a greater impact in protecting our native birds. 

They founded Pest Free Token (PFT) in October 2021, and their innovative approach allows users to earn PFT tokens by purchasing traps and successfully catching pests. These tokens can be traded on the open market or kept for passive rewards. PFT is, in fact,  New Zealand’s first cryptocurrency dedicated to charitable purposes, revolutionising the way people contribute to conservation efforts in the country.

What is Pest Free Token (PFT)?

Pest Free Token, or PFT, is a New Zealand-based crypto project driven by environmental purposes to eradicate pests and local wildlife. The project embraces the local communities in New Zealand, while leveraging crypto to expand the scope of its purpose to anyone in the world who resonate with the cause.

Connect your wallet and easily swap your crypto for PFT tokens here

Although direct donations using cash or crypto are acceptable, they do so in a manner that is innovative, benefitting wildlife, the token holder, as well as communities that actively eradicate pests. 

When users purchase traps and successfully catch pests, they earn PFT tokens as incentives. These tokens can be traded on the open market through the BNB Smart Chain’s DEXs or partner wallets. If users choose to hold onto their PFT tokens, they enjoy the benefits of holding an increasingly rare asset as the token has a burning mechanism. Additionally, they earn a portion of transaction fees, making it akin to “liquid staking”.

Using crypto tokens as a means to exchange value allows the PFT Project to reach beyond the borders of New Zealand for support. While local communities can do their part to physically set up the trap and eliminate pests within the country, PFT tokens can be traded for any other crypto asset, including stablecoins, which could come from anyone in the world.

Therefore, a buyer of the PFT token also contributes to the cause by providing liquidity (and giving incentives) to those who earned the token by doing the physical work. 

PFT operates as a registered charity. As a charitable organisation, PFT’s aim is to deploy traps, catch pests, rebait traps, and protect rivers across New Zealand. They have already deployed 162 traps, covering 90 suburbs and catching 127 pests. Moreover, they have rebaited the 4,700 reusable traps and protected 200 metres of river.

Tokenomics of PFT

Regarding the tokens themselves, a total of 10 billion PFT tokens were created, with 30% being burned, 40% allocated to the market supply, 20% designated for administration, and 10% retained. The fee distribution consists of 1% to charity, 1% to liquidity, 0.38% burned, and 0.62% reflected. 

If you’d like to see a list of all key wallet and contract addresses, you can head over to their FAQ page. More comprehensive details about PFT’s tokenomics can be found in their Whitepaper.

Three ways you can help Pest Free Token

PFT’s ultimate goal is to make New Zealand pest-free by 2050. Here are three ways you can contribute.

Buy a trap and earn PFT tokens. PFT aims to have a trap in every suburb in New Zealand to effectively target rodents, mustelids, and possums.

Trade PFT tokens. Provide incentives to PFT sellers to continue doing good work to the environment, and hold the PFT tokens for the long-term.

Donate directly to the Pest Free Token project. It’s a very straightforward process to donate cash or crypto to the cause. Go to this page to donate.

Buying a PFT trap

A PFT trap is a wooden box designed to catch pests. The trap’s dimensions are approximately 420 x 210 x 160 mm, weighing around 3.5 kg. It features a fixed mesh barrier on the front with a hole for pests to enter, a sliding mesh gate at the back for rebaiting and emptying the trap, and a QR code on top for scanning. Each trap also includes a mousetrap. 

PFT plans to expand its range of traps in the future and occasionally includes other trap models like DOC200s and Flipping Timmy traps. You can find more information about trap setup and other trap-related questions on their website.

Earning Money from Your Catch

When you catch something using a PFT trap, you can scan the trap’s QR code and fill out a form to collect PFT rewards for qualifying catches. To receive the rewards, you must register your PFT trap to a crypto wallet where the rewards will be sent. This process only needs to be done once.

Caught something? Go to this page to claim your reward!

How to Buy Pest Free Tokens (PFT)

By purchasing PFT tokens, you can contribute to the cause while also having a valuable crypto asset. When buying PFT tokens, you retain 97% of your purchase, while a 3% fee is applied. This fee is then allocated to various areas, including supporting the Pest Free Token Charitable Trust, generating income for PFT token holders, ensuring ample liquidity in the trading pool, and burning a portion of the tokens. Token burning reduces the overall supply of PFT tokens, increasing their rarity over time.

To start trading PFT tokens, ensure you have BNB tokens in your wallet. Connect your wallet with the widget provided below, enter the desired amount of tokens (BNB, stablecoins, or other BSC tokens), and click on “Swap.”

PFT takes pride in being one of the most environmentally friendly tokens available. Great care was taken during the project’s design phase to ensure alignment with ecological preservation. PFT tokens were minted in a single electronic passing of the contract, eliminating the need for energy-intensive activities like mining often associated with other cryptocurrencies. This type of token uses a crypto network that greatly minimises environmental impact.

Commitment to transparency

Given the prevalence of scams and fraudulent crypto projects, it’s natural to ask whether Pest Free Token is a legitimate project and commit to keeping with their mission statements. Rest assured that the Pest Free Token project is backed by a formal constitution and trust deed, which are filed with New Zealand Companies Office and Charities Services.  

These documents ensure a few things: 

• All profits must be given to charity, 
• The Pest Free Token Trust’s assets are used exclusively for charitable purposes, 
• The Liquidity Pool is locked, 
• Developer tokens are untouched for a minimum of 24 months, 
• Whale mechanics have been implemented. 

While the first two are standard rules governing charitable organisations, the last three are specific to the DeFi world. It’s not common for new crypto projects to think about how the founder’s token sales could influence the market, as they have most of the supply in the early days. 

The third point is also very important, and a signal that Pest Free Token cannot be equated with fraudulent projects. The latter projects often involve having special access to the liquidity pool, allowing for what’s known as a “rug pull” scam.

The takeaways

While the headlines are filled with claims that country ‘X’ or city ‘Z’ is becoming an ‘international hub’ for crypto, New Zealand has been silently paving ways to leverage crypto for social and environmental causes. After all, crypto isn’t all about trading, investing, and making money. For charities like Pest Free Token, crypto is a means to an end, and not the end in itself.