Berachain Initiates Transition to On-Chain Governance

The EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain Berachain is launching a Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) system as the first phase in its transition to on-chain governance.

PoL Phase 1 begins on Monday and the first whitelisted reward vaults have been approved. Full list and what’s next at:https://t.co/EC0LUJKGGk pic.twitter.com/FB1w1UuzWX

— Berachain Foundation ?⛓ (@berachain) March 21, 2025

“This marks an important step in the evolution of Berachain’s governance—from a limited launch within its own BEX pools to a more open, application-focused ecosystem where projects can ensure sustainable growth through PoL,” the statement reads.

The project has published the initial list of whitelisted reward vaults, which includes pools from the decentralized exchange Berachain and other DEXs within the ecosystem.

The modular blockchain is built using the Cosmos SDK and employs a Tendermint-based Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The model involves three assets: BERA for gas payments, BGT for governance, and HONEY as a stablecoin.

Validators stake BERA and receive a portion of BGT emissions as rewards. The more governance tokens they hold, the greater influence they can exert on the blockchain’s development direction.

At the time of writing, the total value locked in Berachain assets stands at $2.94 billion, according to DeFi Llama. The project’s share of the total figure reaches 3.24%, ranking it seventh, ahead of popular Ethereum-based L2 solutions like Arbitrum, Polygon, and OP.

The price of BERA has risen by 9.2% in the last 24 hours, reaching $7.4. This is approximately 54% below the early February peak of $14.83 (CoinGecko).

The market capitalization of HONEY stands at $527 million, remaining stable throughout March.

In April 2023, Berachain developers raised $42 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital. A year later, the project secured an additional $100 million.