Berachain Team Valued at $1.5 Billion Following Funding Round

Developers of the DeFi-focused L1 blockchain Berachain have raised $69 million in a funding round, valuing the company at $1.5 billion, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and Framework Ventures.

The agency described the deal as a signal of renewed interest from venture investors in the cryptocurrency industry.

Berachain is an EVM-compatible network built on the Cosmos SDK. The project employs a Proof-of-Liquidity consensus mechanism. This variant of “delegated” PoS is designed to allow users to lock tokens in staking while simultaneously providing liquidity for projects on the network.

In January 2023, developers launched the public testnet Artio.

Users gained the ability to exchange BERA tokens, issue HONEY stablecoins, provide loans in the asset, and supply liquidity in pools. The ecosystem also utilizes the governance token BGT.

The mainnet launch is expected in the second quarter of 2024.

Earlier in April 2023, the team raised $42 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital.