By GreenSofa Team x Ethereum Localism
Location: Taiwan
Started: September 2023
Current Status: Active
Social: @greensofa_tw
Summary: GreenSofa, also known as Greenpill Taiwan, is a local initiative cultivating Ethereum public goods culture in Taiwan. Founded in 2023 under the umbrella of FAB DAO, the group has transitioned through three stewardships, each building upon the last to deepen community-rooted funding, education, and infrastructure. Through web3 tools like Gitcoin, Giveth, Hypercerts, and more, GreenSofa has brought real funding and public goods tooling into Taiwan’s civic tech scene, particularly through partnerships with g0v.tw and local NGOs.
(https://x.com/FAB_DAO/status/1815024029344108982, https://akaswap.com/akaobj/25806)
Context
Operating in Taiwan—a democratically vibrant island and globally recognized hub for digital democracy and civic tech—GreenSofa (an iconic name, voted for by the community) bridges Ethereum-based public goods infrastructure with grassroots organizing. Taiwan presents a unique landscape for Ethereum Localism: on one hand, it is internationally recognized for its leadership in semiconductors, digital democracy and infrastructure, and open-source civic culture and tech (exemplified by g0v.tw). On the other hand, blockchain adoption in public goods and NGO sectors remains low despite emerging regulatory clarity.
“Green Sofa embodies the spirit originated from FAB DAO’s first principle: Be fun and not exhausting (source). While we are serious about making contributions, we also take time to relax on the sofa and build connections with our members.”
FAB DAO (Formosa Art Bank DAO): FAB DAO (Twitter, Website) is a self-governing organization that has led Taiwan’s charity NFT movement since 2021. Known for the “Project Percentage (%)” campaign on OpenSea), FAB DAO blends art, culture, and philanthropy through nonprofit NFT projects. It creates public blockchain experiences, supports artists and collectors, and promotes Web3 education. In April 2023, it transitioned to a DAO model, enabling the community to propose and lead new initiatives. FAB DAO’s alignment with Greenpill Network led to the founding of GreenSofa as its local Ethereum public goods chapter.
Over the past two years, Taiwan has also emerged as a regional Web3 hub, hosting events like Funding the Commons Taipei 2023, ETHGlobal Taipei 2025, and d/acc Day Taiwan 2025 (led by Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin). GreenSofa participates in and builds upon this momentum, localizing tools like Gitcoin QF and Hypercerts for civic tech projects.
Grassroots Opportunity Gap: Among NGOs and public goods contributors in Taiwan, blockchain awareness is still limited. For example, in the 10-year-old civic tech community g0v.tw, an estimated 80% of hackathon participants have little knowledge of Web3. Despite experimenting with Quadratic Voting (QV) via the RadicalxChange platform, the community still relies on fiat-based donations and off-chain voting interfaces. No funds are distributed in stablecoins, and no onchain governance is currently used. This revealed an opportunity for GreenSofa: to introduce Ethereum-based funding tools like Gitcoin QF, Hypercerts, and stablecoin-based sponsorships to these already-activated civic networks. Reference: g0v Hackathon QV video
How It’s Going
GreenSofa’s milestones to date reflect a blend of experimentation, education, and deepening cosmo-local impact:
DAO Evolution
Three distinct stewardship phases have matured GreenSofa’s governance and strategic focus:
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As its first leader, Stanley (Twitter) laid a solid foundation for Green Sofa. Under his leadership, trust and communication protocols with FAB DAO and the Greenpill Network were established, internal governance frameworks (e.g., proposal discussion, voting mechanisms, regular weekly meeting) were built, GIVETH verification was completed, and critical infrastructure was launched, like the multi-signature wallet (to securely manage funds).
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Denken (Twitter) brought a phase of experimentation and outreach, launching Karma GAP profiles, minting NFTs for contributors, and conducting impact surveys. Under his term, GreenSofa began actively exploring its identity and positioning—both within FAB DAO and across the international Ethereum Localism community.
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With a clear identity now established, Swift Evo (Twitter) is focused on deepening local-global connections. GreenSofa is actively expanding its network through cross-regional partnerships and aligning Green Sofa more strategically with the broader Web3 and Ethereum Localism ecosystem, while at the same time strengthening ties with local Taiwanese NGOs, educators, and public goods builders.
Global Crowdfunding, Local Impact
Raised stablecoin funding via Gitcoin, Giveth, and Hypercerts, then redirected it toward civic tech projects like g0v Hackathon, often converting to fiat to respect local workflows.
- 2023: Experimented with Quadratic Voting for collecting NFTs on Tezos - 100 XTZ
- 2024-01: GIVETH approved Green Sofa
- 2024-01: Supported Japan earthquake relief fund by GreenPill Japan (tweet) - 0.09 ETH
- 2025-04: FAB DAO x Huangxi Environmental Education Programme
- A collaboration between FAB DAO and the Huangxi Environmental Education Programme (HEEP), which used Web3 tools and NFTs to engage over 3,000 students and 50,000 local residents in ecological restoration along Taipei’s Huangxi River. Participants earned digital badges and NFTs by completing environmental missions, blending civic action with blockchain-based impact tracking. The project demonstrates how Ethereum tools can support urban watershed stewardship through education, community building, and on-chain proof of participation. Watch the video →
Cross-Regional Collaborations
Facilitated dialogue and AMAs across Chinese-speaking public goods communities, working with MattersLab, Blocktrend, DeSciAsia, and more.
- 2024: GreenSofa Advisor and Core Member mashbean.eth contributed to GreenPill: Local Regen Guide #1
- 2025-02: Became the sponsor of Taiwan g0v hackath67n (May 2025)!
Follow-Up & Human-Centered Design
Directly supported 18 local public goods projects with onboarding, tracking, and funding—all while reducing technical barriers.
- 2023-11: Helped run a Quadratic Funding round with FAB DAO (funds distributed: 1,369.69 DAI)
- See the results: “FAB DAO Grant is Great: Results & Discussion of the Quadratic Funding Experiment”
- Follow-ups: grants-survey-results, payout for interviewers
Onchain Tools
- SAFE — treasury management
- Karma GAP — building an on-chain reputation
- Hypercerts — recording the project’s impact
- Giveth and Gitcoin — participation in international public goods grants
- POAP — “Proof of Attendance Protocol” free mint NFT
- ENS — Web3 identity management
Reflections
Tooling vs. Trust
GreenSofa has learned that while Ethereum tools provide structure and funding, local engagement relies heavily on cultural translation and relationship-building. Communication—not just code—is key.
“Web3 public goods work is 20% tooling and 80% communication. Education, cultural translation, and relational trust-building are as essential as the tools themselves.”
IRL Still Matters
In-person workshops and events are far more effective for onboarding than digital materials alone. Moving forward, GreenSofa is prioritizing real-world interaction for trust-building and education.
“Face-to-face interaction builds trust more quickly and effectively than online workshops. IRL meetings make it easier to explain abstract concepts, answer questions immediately, and guide people step-by-step through the onboarding process.”
Simplify to Localize
Web3 tools like easyRetroPGF proved too complex for many Taiwanese civic groups. To bridge the gap, GreenSofa has developed a 1-1 support model where global funds are stewarded locally, sometimes off-chain, but always transparently.
“Local-first design requires both technical adaptation and community co-creation, not just deployment of global tools. Ethereum gave us the infrastructure—but the real transformation came through localized stewardship.”
Next Steps
Green Sofa’s goal is to demonstrate that Ethereum-based public goods funding can provide meaningful resources to existing civic movements—not just in theory, but in practice.
GreenSofa is sponsoring the g0v SofaSoGood Hackath67n (May 2025) (Reference: x.com/GreenSofa_TW/status/1901609302852288930. As one of Taiwan’s most influential civic tech gatherings, this event offers a prime opportunity to introduce Web3 public goods funding in a real-world setting. Goals for the event are to:
- Integrate Web3 public goods tools into local civic hackathons and workflows
- Onboard g0v projects into GreenSofa’s ongoing tracker, for follow-up and continued support through surveys, onboarding, and education — projects that express readiness and open a crypto wallet will be provided with resources for decentralized fundraising
- Act as a bridge for global donors seeking credible local projects, and local projects seeking greater global exposure.
By combining Web3 innovation with g0v’s civic infrastructure, Green Sofa aims to create a lasting model for cross-network public goods collaboration—one where global donors empower local change, and local communities co-shape the future of Ethereum public goods.
This Field Report is part of the ethereumlocalism.xyz Knowledge Garden — a growing collection of real-world experiments, reflections, and tools for grounding coordination in place. Want to share your story or contribute an update? Get in touch →