The Berachain Foundation has officially announced the launch of its mainnet on February 6, 2025. Berachain is a Layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, featuring high compatibility with the EVM environment and introducing a novel consensus mechanism—Proof of Liquidity (POL).
The Token Generation Event (TGE) will take place on the same day as the mainnet launch. Detailed information about tokenomics and the airdrop claim process will be released on February 5, 2025. Prior to this, the project successfully raised $142 million in its Series A funding round, led by Polychain Capital with participation from reputable investment firms such as Shima Capital, Hack VC, and Robot Ventures.
One of Berachain’s standout features is its unique POL mechanism, which differentiates it from traditional Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains. Instead of simply staking through external service providers, Berachain users must choose between two options: staking with validators to secure the network or providing liquidity to core DeFi protocols. This approach simultaneously addresses two major challenges—ensuring liquidity and maintaining decentralization.
Berachain operates on a three-token system:
- BGT: A non-tradable (soulbound) staking token that can only be earned by providing liquidity to protocols such as DEXs or stablecoin lending platforms. Users can burn BGT to receive BERA.
- BERA: The native token used to pay for transaction fees on the network.
- HONEY: The ecosystem’s stablecoin, used as rewards for those who delegate BGT to validators.
Interestingly, the project is developed by an anonymous founding team, with members using bear-themed pseudonyms such as Homme Bera, Dev Bear, Papa Bear, and Smokey the Bera. Berachain began in late 2021 following the success of the Bong Bears NFT collection and related projects.