Roadmap & timeline
The Klima roadmap from 2021 to 2026, covering onchain carbon markets, Carbonmark, Base network migration, kVCM/K2 launch, and the first Klima Protocol app.
The Klima Protocol is set to fully launch early in 2026, marking the culmination of a four-year evolution from an innovative DeFi carbon protocol into a sustainable, transparent, and open climate infrastructure that facilitates efficient, global carbon markets.
2021: Foundation and onchain carbon market innovation
KlimaDAO launched on Polygon in October 2021 as a pioneering carbon-backed DeFi protocol. It quickly grew its treasury to hold over 20 million tokenised carbon credits, jump-starting the development of an onchain carbon market and reaching a peak market capitalisation of $1.1 billion.
Key milestone: Establishment of the first large-scale decentralised carbon finance protocol.
2022: Scaling carbon market infrastructure and product expansion
Despite market headwinds, including a major registry pausing blockchain integrations, KlimaDAO scaled its carbon market infrastructure by facilitating large-scale carbon offset retirements.
To promote real-world adoption, KlimaDAO expanded its product suite with Klima Infinity, the Carbon Dashboard, the Climate Pledge Portal, and the Carbon Retirement Aggregator.
By year-end, KLIMA’s circulating supply surpassed 1 million tokens, and reported over 500,000 tonnes of CO₂ offset through its infrastructure.
Key milestone: Major expansion of product offerings to drive adoption despite market challenges.
2023: Ecosystem consolidation and marketplace launch
Focus shifted to strengthening infrastructure and consolidating the ecosystem.
KlimaDAO developed and launched Carbonmark, a comprehensive carbon credit marketplace aggregating tens of millions of credits from hundreds of projects. Carbonmark became the primary interface for market participants, improving transparency and trading efficiency.
Key milestone: Launch of Carbonmark, centralising carbon credit marketplace activity.
2024: Network migration and governance evolution
KlimaDAO successfully migrated its protocol from Polygon to the Base blockchain, addressing issues of high gas fees and improving transaction throughput while aligning closer to Coinbase’s ecosystem.
The DAO established KlimaDAO Japan, launching Japan’s first tokenised carbon marketplace compatible with the Government of Japan's J-Credits system.
Carbonmark enhanced its functionality by expanding registry integrations, introducing credit fractionalisation, automating purchase and retirements via API, and improving marketplace features.
By mid-2024, KlimaDAO and Carbonmark facilitated the retirement of over 1 million tonnes of carbon credits on behalf of customers, demonstrating significant real-world climate impact through its digital infrastructure.
Key milestone: Migration to Base and geographic expansion with KlimaDAO Japan.
2025: Klima 2.0 white paper and Fair Launch
By 2025, Carbonmark handled over 12,000 carbon retirement transactions per month, leveraging KlimaDAO's liquidity to support operations.
KlimaDAO created the Klima Foundation, marking the beginning of the shift to a more resilient organisational structure.
The Klima 2.0 white paper was released, introducing new concepts for onchain carbon, including a dual-token architecture comprising the tokens kVCM and K2. It proposed a more autonomous design for accruing carbon credits, decentralised liquidity mechanisms, and a new, more codified governance framework.
The Klima 2.0 Fair Launch ran through to Q4, culminating in the Token Generation Event (TGE) for kVCM, where participants were able to claim Klima's new tokens. The Klima 2.0 TGE was designed to prioritise its long-term community, with no preferential VC terms, and a clean launch onto Aerodrome with liquidity supported via Klima's own assets, not third-party market makers.
Key milestone: Publication of Klima 2.0's white paper and successful Fair Launch event.
2026: Klima Protocol launch
Following the TGE, the protocol's utility tokens traded on Base DEXs including Aerodrome and Hydrex, setting the stage for the full deployment of the infrastructure layer.
In early 2026, the Klima Protocol will officially launch its new application, completing the transition from KlimaDAO to a fully decentralised, scalable climate finance infrastructure.
Key milestone: Official launch of the Klima Protocol and decentralised carbon market price discovery.
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