Presently, greater than 30 native challenge builders are constructing in Berachain, and over 100 groups from different networks plan to deploy on the testnet and mainnet.
Berachain, a blockchain challenge with a bear-themed idea based mostly on the Cosmos ecosystem, has efficiently secured $69 million to broaden its enterprise operations in preparation for the anticipated mainnet launch later this yr.
After years of growth, the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform launched its public testnet, Artio, in January 2024. With the most recent funding, Berachain plans to formally debut its maninet within the second quarter of this yr.
Berachain Reaches Unicorn Standing with New Funding
In accordance with a Bloomberg report citing individuals aware of the matter, the funding spherical was led by two blockchain-focused enterprise capital corporations, Brevan Howard Digital and Framework Ventures.
The brand new fundraising has introduced the protocol’s complete valuation to greater than $1.5 billion, making it the most recent crypto platform to attain unicorn standing.
The funding follows a profitable fundraising effort in April 2023, the place Berachain raised $42 million in a non-public token sale led by Polychain Capital.
Different buyers that participated within the funding spherical embody Hack VC, Shima Capital, Robotic Ventures, and Goldentree Asset Administration.
Just like its earlier fundraising, the current spherical concerned the sale of digital tokens. Berachain’s protocol operates on a triple-token mannequin consisting of bera (the native fuel token), honey (a local stablecoin), and BGT (the “non-transferrable” Bera Governance Token).
In accordance with the platform, customers who stake bera or different authorised tokens will obtain BGT over time. This enables them to earn honey, which is generated by the underlying chain structure, as a reward for his or her participation in governance.
Berachain’s Journey to Mainnet Success
The blockchain challenge, constructed beneath the “proof of liquidity” consensus mechanism, said that its personal testnet was hosted beneath a non-disclosure settlement.
Throughout this section, which was accomplished earlier than the general public testnet launch, varied companions deployed contracts on the chain. Berachain reported that as much as 50 groups deployed their purposes on the community.
Presently, greater than 30 native challenge builders are constructing in Berachain, and over 100 groups from different networks plan to deploy on the testnet and mainnet. This exterior workforce contains identified tasks comparable to Pendle, Redacted, Sudoswap, and Abracadabra.
The protocol anticipates that after the official mainnet launch, Berachain will likely be supported by custodians, cross-chain messaging, bridging protocols, and knowledge availability options.
In distinction to the normal Proof of Stake (PoS) networks, the place customers can improve the protocol’s safety by staking with a validator or offering on-chain liquidity on a DeFi platform, Berachain’s proof of liquidity requires customers first to offer liquidity to a set of DeFi primitives to contribute to community safety.
The protocol was created by a workforce of nameless builders who use the pseudonyms Homme Bera, Dev Bear, Papa Bear, and Smokey the Bera. They’re identified on-line for utilizing cartoon bear photos, some depicting the bears smoking weed.
