"Berachain's EVM L1 Mainnet Launches: PoL Consensus and Triple Token System Unveiled"

Berachain, a layer-1 blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), is set to launch its mainnet on February 6, 2025, following over a year of development and securing over $100 million in funding. The project, which released its public testnet in January 2024 under the codename "Artio," will roll out its mainnet for on-chain users this week.

The Berachain Foundation has confirmed that the L1 mainnet launch will coincide with the token generation event (TGE) for Berachain's ecosystem. From February 5, users will be able to view the project's tokenomics and check for airdrops farmed during the year-long testnet period.

Berachain's EVM L1 has been built using the Cosmos SDK toolkit and features a unique consensus design called "proof-of-liquidity" (PoL). Unlike traditional proof-of-stake networks, PoL requires users to secure the network by providing liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) primitives rather than simply staking tokens. The new EVM L1 uses a triple token system, consisting of BGT for staking, BERA as the native gas token, and the stablecoin HONEY.

To earn BGT, users must fund on-chain liquidity for DeFi views like exchanges or lenders. The token cannot be bought in open markets and can only be earned according to the team's design. However, users can burn BTG coins to receive BERA tokens, with burned BTG being irredeemable. Additionally, delegated BGT deposited to validators generates HONEY stablecoin rewards through protocol fees and "bribes".

Berachain has been under development since 2021, following the creation of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection called "Bong Bears." The NFT series and Berachain were created by a four-person team of pseudonymous co-founders identified under the monickers Homme Bera, Dev Bear, Papa Bear, and Smokey The Bera. The team raised $42 million in a private token sale in April 2023 and $100 million in a Series B round co-led by Abu Dhabi's Brevan Howard Digital branch and Framework Ventures.