WATCHLIST
Berachain is a new Layer-1 blockchain (Cosmos-based with an Ethereum VM) that runs on a novel Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus. Instead of traditional proof-of-stake, Berachain incentivizes users and protocols to lock liquidity on-chain in exchange for governance tokens (BGT) and rewards . The network features a tri-token model – $BERA (gas token), $HONEY (native stablecoin), and $BGT (soulbound governance token) – aligning security with deep liquidity. Since its mainnet launch in February 2025 , Berachain’s ecosystem has rapidly expanded with innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, NFT-finance platforms, and infrastructure projects. Many of these projects originated during Berachain’s testnets (Artio/bArtio) and have now gone live or are preparing for mainnet, backed by enthusiastic communities and fresh funding. Below, we dive into some of the most noteworthy Berachain projects – what they do, how they stand out, their development status, and any notable support – followed by an editorial “watchlist” of other promising Berachain ventures to keep on your radar.
Beraborrow – PoL-Powered Stablecoin Loans
Beraborrow is a decentralized borrowing protocol inspired by Ethereum’s Liquity, adapted for Berachain’s PoL model . It lets users take out interest-free loans by using iBGT (the liquid staked version of BGT) as collateral . In exchange, borrowers mint $NECT, a USD-pegged stablecoin that can be used across the Berachain ecosystem . Beraborrow’s key innovation is a 0% interest, no-liquidation loan design: users can borrow NECT against iBGT with no interest accrual and no fixed repayment schedule . This is possible because loans must remain overcollateralized (e.g. a 120% minimum collateral ratio) and are secured by a stability pool. If a loan falls below the threshold, the collateral can be liquidated to stability pool stakers, who earn the difference as profit . This model mirrors Liquity’s approach, providing a “minimum viable stablecoin” without governance or variable interest, which is a stark contrast to traditional money markets.
Key differentiators: Beraborrow unlocks interest-free liquidity from staked BGT, which markedly sets it apart from typical lending platforms that charge interest . There are no periodic payments required – users can repay whenever they like, as long as they maintain sufficient collateral . This flexibility, combined with the use of Berachain’s governance asset (iBGT) as collateral, effectively makes Beraborrow a cornerstone for bootstrapping liquidity on Berachain . It amplifies users’ leverage to speculate on BGT’s value or deploy capital elsewhere while still earning staking rewards on the collateral. Additionally, the protocol will reward stability pool providers (who stake NECT to backstop loans) with liquidation gains and possibly its own token incentives , further aligning with Berachain’s PoL incentive structure.
Status: As of early 2025, Beraborrow is live on Berachain’s testnet and gearing up for mainnet launch. A public testnet opened in Q4 2024 , and the team has been fine-tuning the contracts (the frontend was available at test.beraborrow.com for trial runs ). With Berachain mainnet now active, Beraborrow is expected to deploy on mainnet imminently, allowing users to mint NECT stablecoins against their iBGT. The initial integration with Infrared’s iBGT (Berachain’s liquid BGT token) was one of the first of its kind , demonstrating the composability of new ecosystem projects.
Notable backers/traction: Beraborrow was developed by a community-driven team during the Berachain testnet era and was selected as one of Berachain’s RFA (Request-for-Allocation) projects . It hasn’t announced major venture funding – fitting for a Liquity-style protocol that typically avoids governance tokens – but it has strong community support. Early users (e.g. Hungry Bera NFT holders and testnet participants) are likely to be rewarded in Berachain’s ecosystem airdrops . The protocol’s testnet saw active participation; for instance, Beraborrow’s testnet vaults achieved extremely high APYs due to test incentives (at one point a NECT–BERA pool hit five-digit APY , albeit under test conditions). As Berachain matures, Beraborrow is poised to become the go-to stablecoin borrowing outlet for Bera’s native community – a role akin to Liquity’s LUSD on Ethereum, but tailored to Berachain’s honeycomb economy.
Beradrome – Velodrome Fork with a Twist
Beradrome is Berachain’s native liquidity marketplace and automated market maker (AMM), modeled as a fork of Velodrome (ve(3,3)) from Optimism . In essence, it’s a decentralized exchange that uses vote-escrowed tokenomics (à la Solidly) to manage liquidity incentives and governance. However, Beradrome introduces several novel mechanisms on top of the standard Velodrome design to better align with Berachain’s multi-token environment:
• BERO token and Bonding Curve: Beradrome’s token is $BERO, which is minted and redeemed via a bonding curve against BGT. The design guarantees that 1 BERO is always backed by at least 1 BGT in value . In other words, the bonding curve ensures the price floor of BERO stays at or above 1 BGT per BERO . This mechanism provides liquidity and stability for BERO; users can trust that BERO won’t trade below its intrinsic value in BGT terms, which instills confidence for LPs and voters . It’s an innovative answer to the volatility and dilution issues some ve(3,3) tokens faced on other chains.
• hiBERO (Hybrid BERO): Instead of requiring users to lock tokens for 4 years as in traditional veToken models, Beradrome offers hiBERO, a governance token that represents staked BERO without a time lock . Governance power is only “activated” during voting epochs, and between votes users are free to convert hiBERO back to liquid BERO . This dynamic staking means participants get the benefits of vote-escrow (fees, voting rights on liquidity gauges) without a permanent lockup, significantly improving user flexibility. hiBERO holders can vote to direct liquidity incentives and earn fees, and once votes reset, withdraw if they wish . This approach lowers the barrier to participation in governance and avoids the liquidity trap of long locks.
• oBERO (Option BERO): To incentivize liquidity providers, Beradrome mints oBERO, which are like call options for BERO, as rewards to LPs based on hiBERO votes . Liquidity gauges that attract hiBERO votes pay out oBERO to their LPs. These oBERO tokens can be redeemed for BERO in the future (effectively giving LPs an upside if BERO’s price grows) or even used as collateral to borrow against hiBERO positions . The crucial point is oBERO allows liquidity providers to leverage their future rewards without risk of liquidation or interest – they are essentially non-liquidatable claims on future BERO. This mechanism encourages deep liquidity provision by giving LPs an extra leveraged reward tied to the success of the exchange.
• “Real Deal” initiative: Beradrome has explicitly courted other protocols and DAOs in the ecosystem through what it calls the Real Deal program . In this model, partner protocols commit treasury resources (like providing liquidity or locking BERO long-term) in exchange for dedicated voting power or fee revenue on Beradrome. This creates a symbiotic relationship: projects get influence over Beradrome’s gauges (ensuring incentives for their token pairs), while Beradrome secures committed liquidity and aligned stakeholders . It’s similar to Velodrome’s “veNFT partnerships” concept – essentially pay-for-play liquidity collaboration, which helped Velodrome bootstrap usage on Optimism. On Berachain, where many new tokens will launch, this could prove pivotal in concentrating liquidity and volume on Beradrome.
Status: Beradrome launched during Berachain’s testnet phase and was a showcase RFA project . It issued Tour de Berance NFTs to early supporters (a set of 6,900 NFTs that confer special benefits on the platform) as part of its initial campaign . As of mainnet launch (Q1 2025), Beradrome is expected to go live with its BERO bonding curve and gauge voting system. The initial BERO supply is 100,000 tokens allocated among the community, partner protocols, the team, and a portion reserved for gauge incentives . This relatively small float (with more BERO minted via bonding curve as BGT is supplied) means early demand for liquidity and governance could be high. Users will soon be able to mint BERO by depositing BGT, obtain hiBERO for voting, and start earning oBERO as liquidity rewards.
Notable backers/traction: Beradrome’s approach has attracted significant attention in the Berachain community. While it hasn’t announced VC funding (it’s likely community-launched, akin to how Velodrome was incubated by Optimism community members), it has technical and economic guidance from experienced DeFi builders. Its integration of BGT (soulbound) as backing for BERO was even cited by Berachain’s team as an example of innovative PoL use. With Berachain’s core DEX (BEX) offering basic swaps, Beradrome is positioned as the more yield- and governance-oriented exchange for projects launching on Berachain. We can expect protocols to vie for hiBERO votes (and thus BGT emissions), kicking off the classic “Curve wars” dynamic on Berachain. The success of Real Deal partnerships (rumored participants include several other RFA teams) will be something to watch, as it could moor various protocols’ fate to Beradrome’s success. If it works, Beradrome could achieve a deep moat of liquidity that’s hard for competing DEXs to overcome – making it a critical piece of Berachain’s DeFi infrastructure.
LiquidMint (formerly BeraMarket) – NFT Liquidity Unleashed
LiquidMint (rebranded from “BeraMarket”) is Berachain’s answer to the illiquidity of NFTs, bringing the worlds of NFTs and DeFi together. It’s essentially an NFT marketplace and launchpad that introduces “Liquid-Backed NFTs” – a mechanism to give every NFT a guaranteed liquidity floor. The platform allows creators to back their NFT collections with on-chain liquidity, ensuring each NFT has an intrinsic value that holders can redeem or borrow against . In simpler terms, LiquidMint injects a portion of funds (from mint proceeds or treasury) into a liquidity pool (“backing treasury”) for the collection, which grows over time via fees or yield strategies. This creates a permanent, ever-growing buyback reserve for the NFTs, meaning there is always a bid for your JPEG.
How it works: When a new NFT collection launches on LiquidMint, a share of the mint revenue (or other assets) is allocated as backing for the NFTs. As the project grows, they can add more backing from royalties, DeFi yield (the treasury can be deployed in yield farms or PoL programs), etc. . The backing is collectively owned and provides a “money-back guarantee” – owners can at any time burn their NFT to redeem its backed value (minus fees) . Because this backing can only increase (through trading fees, lending interest, or protocol incentives), the floor price of the NFT is on a one-way upward trajectory . LiquidMint essentially applies the concept of protocol-owned liquidity (PoL) to NFTs: each collection is like a mini DAO with its own growing liquidity pool, giving traders confidence that the NFT will always be worth at least X amount of $BERA or $HONEY.
Crucially, LiquidMint NFTs remain tradeable on any marketplace; the backing travels with the NFT . This opens arbitrage opportunities – if an NFT is selling below its backed value on a secondary market, arbitrageurs can buy it and redeem for instant profit. Thus, market forces keep the price near or above the backing floor. Additionally, LiquidMint offers features like “Redeem-to-Exit”, where holders burn their NFT for the backing (useful if they want to capture the floor value) , and potentially fractionalization or lending using the backed NFTs as collateral (since each has a quantifiable floor value, it’s safer to lend against them). In effect, LiquidMint guarantees NFT liquidity and turns NFTs into yield-bearing assets (as the backing pool accrues fees) – a radical departure from the typical NFT experience of speculative, illiquid jpegs.
Key differentiators vs competitors: Traditional NFT marketplaces (OpenSea, etc.) do not provide any intrinsic value to NFTs – value is purely speculative. Competing NFT liquidity protocols like NFTX or Sudoswap introduced fractional vaults or AMMs, but those rely on users to seed liquidity and often result in floor prices dropping if liquidity is pulled . LiquidMint’s approach of permanent backing liquidity is novel: the liquidity is protocol-controlled and grows over time, creating an “only-up” floor price trajectory . This assures traders that even in a bear market, their NFT holds some real value that won’t vanish. Also, by integrating DeFi yield strategies into NFT treasuries (think NFTs that earn interest via lending out their backing capital), LiquidMint sets itself apart – it’s not just a marketplace, but an NFT-Fi platform. Creators benefit by making money on trading fees and the growth of the backing pool, collectors benefit from having instant liquidity or even borrowing options, and traders can enjoy reduced downside risk .
Status: LiquidMint was active on the Berachain testnet in late 2024 under the name BeraMarket, where it facilitated free NFT mints (e.g., collaborations with the BeraBoyz NFT club) and demonstrated the concept . The official rebrand to LiquidMint and launch on Liquidmint.xyz signaled the product’s readiness for mainnet. As of March 2025, LiquidMint is live on Berachain mainnet for browsing collections and backing stats , and the team has announced deep integrations with other Berachain projects (for example, data oracles like Irys to track NFT metrics ). At launch, it supports all six official Berachain NFT collections – Bong Bears, Bond Bears, Boo Bears, Baby Bears, Band Bears, and Bit Bears – which all contain vested $BERA tokens as part of their metadata . These rebasing “bear” NFTs were foundational to Berachain’s community, and LiquidMint’s Pools feature now allows holders to unlock the vesting BERA in those NFTs instantly . This has proven hugely popular: upon launch, Fungify’s data shows LiquidMint (via “Fungify Pools”) became the largest NFT lending protocol on Berachain overnight, with over $700k TVL in 24 hours – a testament to pent-up demand for liquidity among NFT holders.
Notable backers/community: LiquidMint is a homegrown Berachain project with a strong community meme culture (their social media is full of bear puns and guerilla marketing). While it hasn’t disclosed big-name investors, it is closely aligned with other ecosystem teams (mention of APDAO and MíBears hints at collaborative development ). The concept of Liquid-Backed Token (LBT) has attracted attention beyond Berachain; articles on NFT finance platforms have highlighted LiquidMint’s approach as groundbreaking . As NFT trading on Berachain grows (currently a nascent market), LiquidMint could position itself as the de facto launchpad for projects who want to issue NFTs with built-in value – effectively making NFTs a new asset class of yield-bearing, collateral-ready tokens. It’s a unique play that could even entice NFT projects from other chains to consider launching on Berachain to leverage LiquidMint’s liquidity backing tech.
BGT Market – Unlocking Berachain’s Governance Token Value
BGT Market is a decentralized auction platform designed specifically for trading Berachain’s governance token, $BGT, despite its non-transferable (soulbound) nature . By default, BGT cannot be sent or sold – it’s earned over time through providing liquidity to the chain and is meant to stay bound to an address . BGT Market introduces an elegant workaround: users who want to sell their BGT can deposit it into BGT Market, where it’s pooled and auctioned off in batches via a Dutch auction mechanism . Buyers on the other side can bid to purchase these batches of BGT using $BERA, effectively trustlessly swapping the governance power.
Here’s how it works in practice: Sellers accumulate BGT (e.g., validators or liquidity providers receiving BGT emissions) and may wish to “cash out” some of it. On BGT Market, they deposit BGT into a bucket of 100 BGT (for example). Once the bucket is filled (by one or multiple sellers), an auction starts where BERA bidders gradually lower their offered price until 100 BGT is sold to the highest bidder(s) . This Dutch auction format (price starts high and ticks down until buyers step in) finds a market-driven price for BGT. The winning buyers don’t withdraw BGT (since it’s soulbound); instead, the smart contract likely delegates those BGT to the buyer’s address or gives the buyer an equivalent staked position. Buyers gain the ability to stake/vote with BGT or even burn it for BERA, just as if they had earned it. Meanwhile, sellers receive the $BERA proceeds from the auction. Essentially, BGT Market tokenizes BGT’s governance rights into a tradable format without violating the soulbound rule – all BGT stays in the contract, but the rights (and burn option) transfer to new owners.
Key benefits and differentiators: For Berachain users, this is huge. It creates a market-driven value for $BGT where none existed before . Normally, 1 BGT can always be burned for 1 BERA (one-way) , so that sets a kind of intrinsic floor price (BGT is worth at least as much as BERA). But BGT is more valuable than BERA to many, because it yields staking rewards and governance power. BGT Market allows that premium to be discovered: if bidders are willing to pay, say, 1.5 BERA for 1 BGT, it implies they value the future yield or influence of BGT above its burn value . This mechanism bridges the gap between illiquid governance and liquid markets. It’s an alternative to “liquid staking derivatives” like iBGT (Infrared’s approach) – in fact, BGT Market explicitly offers “pure BGT” exposure as opposed to a derivative . One could argue BGT Market complements Infrared: Infrared’s iBGT is great for those who want liquidity but continue to hold a token tied 1:1 to BGT (with yield), whereas BGT Market is for those who want to trade BGT itself, possibly at a premium, to gain extra BGT or exit positions.
Unlike typical DEX or OTC trades, the Dutch auction ensures large BGT sales don’t crash the market – the price slides until matching buyer demand, and partial fills are possible. The auctions also decouple individual trust (no peer negotiation needed; it’s all via contract). Another differentiator is that buyers who acquire BGT via the market can immediately delegate it to validators on BGT Market’s interface to earn staking yields , or resell later in another auction, or burn for BERA if they wish, giving them multiple strategies. BGT Market, in effect, creates liquidity and price discovery for a soulbound asset, a relatively unique achievement in crypto.
Status: BGT Market launched alongside Berachain mainnet in early 2025. Its documentation and dApp (bgt.market) went live in testnet form in late 2024, with final touches deployed for mainnet . The team (affiliated with Berachain core contributors) updated the community that with mainnet “Q5” online, it’s time to begin “stacking BGT” via the market . Currently, BGT Market runs periodic auctions (perhaps a rolling auction that triggers each time 100 BGT is pooled). Users can connect their wallet, deposit BGT, and watch for auctions, or place bids with WBERA. As BGT emissions ramp up (the chain continuously issues BGT to LPs and stakers), BGT Market will likely see increasing volume. Metrics from the first weeks indicate strong interest: many Berachain early adopters were eager to buy BGT to participate in governance, resulting in BGT clearing prices above 1 BERA (i.e. BGT trading at a premium for governance yield). Over time, the market will determine if that premium sustains (reflecting the time value and yield of BGT) .
Notable backers/community: BGT Market is arguably a critical piece of Berachain’s own tokenomics strategy. It was developed with support from the Berachain Foundation (and listed as an official ecosystem project) , underscoring its importance. The concept of a BGT auction was introduced by community members who recognized that without a mechanism like this, Berachain’s governance token might suffer from “price discovery vacuum” or force people to use imperfect workarounds (like wrapping BGT in NFTs to trade it). Now, BGT Market has filled that gap. Notably, it offers an alternative to liquid staking derivatives – some users might prefer buying BGT outright via auction to gain governance and full yield, rather than holding iBGT which automatically sells some yield for liquidity. This dynamic sets up an interesting competition (or synergy) between BGT Market and Infrared’s iBGT. Both are likely to coexist, and together they ensure BGT holders have maximum flexibility: hold soulbound BGT (for pure governance), hold iBGT (for liquidity and DeFi composability), or auction into/out of BGT positions via BGT Market. The BGT Market team is relatively low-profile but is active on Twitter (@bgtmarket) providing updates and guides. In summary, BGT Market is a unique marketplace for a unique asset, and its success will be a bellwether for the health of Berachain’s PoL incentive model.
D2 Finance – On-Chain Hedge Fund & Strategy Vaults
D2 Finance is a multi-strategy DeFi hedge fund operating entirely on-chain. Think of it as a decentralized, non-custodial version of a quant hedge fund, offering managed yield vaults and trading strategies that users can invest in . Unlike traditional yield aggregators that simply compound farming rewards, D2’s vaults employ active trading and hedging strategies to generate returns. The platform originally launched on Arbitrum and has expanded to Berachain, where its flagship strategy “eBERA” is tailored to Berachain’s PoL dynamics .
What it does: D2 Finance lets users deposit assets into time-limited vaults (funding epochs) which then deploy capital across various DeFi opportunities (and even off-chain market making via on-chain hooks) according to a strategy . These strategies range from volatility trading, momentum strategies, yield farming, arbitrage, to liquidity providing with hedging. For example, eBERA Vault on Berachain is designed to capture the growth of Berachain’s ecosystem with controlled risk . It combines momentum trading (to ride upward trends) with volatility harvesting (earning from swings) and hedges using Berachain’s PoL yields . By staking assets into PoL (earning BGT) and simultaneously employing options-like hedges, eBERA seeks to provide strong upside exposure to BERA/BGT while protecting the downside during turbulence . Essentially, D2 is bringing sophisticated “TradFi hedge fund” techniques (risk-adjusted returns, active management) into a DeFi vault that anyone can join or exit.
Key differentiators: D2 Finance positions itself differently from static yield optimizers (Yearn, Beefy) by focusing on active management and multi-strategy aggregation. Its proprietary smart order management system allows it to execute complex trades, such as entering a perp position and providing liquidity, in one vault tick . This system is fully audited and encodes risk parameters to prevent excessive exposure . One big differentiator is D2’s experience and track record: the team has backgrounds in traditional finance and have run similar strategies off-chain with success . They emphasize volatility strategies and arbitrage – areas often too complex for average DeFi users, but potentially very profitable. D2 wraps these in a “set-and-forget” vault format. Users can deposit, say, BERA or USDC into D2’s vault, and D2 will automatically leverage it across multiple platforms (e.g., shorting perps, farming BGT rewards, capturing funding rate arbitrage, etc., all at once). In Berachain’s context, this is extremely useful: PoL incentives create many feedback loops and inefficiencies (for example, high yields on BERA or HONEY, volatile governance token prices), and D2’s thesis is to exploit those via reflexive strategies . Their “Reflexivity” series of Medium articles explicitly discusses how to harness Berachain’s feedback loops for profit .
In short, D2 offers DeFi users a way to get hedge-fund-style exposure – something usually inaccessible without entrusting funds to a centralized manager. By being on-chain, D2 maintains transparency (you can see the vault composition) and non-custodial control (you withdraw your tokens anytime after epoch). It’s 100% performance-driven: if their strategies work, users benefit; if not, yields will be lower, but principal is still under user control.
Status: D2 Finance was founded in 2024 and launched initial vaults on Arbitrum. It joined Berachain’s RFA cohort and deployed testnet vaults (e.g., 2xBERA strategy, Hyperliquid arbitrage strategy) during late 2024 . With Berachain mainnet, D2 has rolled out real money vaults. Notably, D2’s presence is multi-chain (Arbitrum, Canto, and others), so on Berachain it often interfaces with cross-chain opportunities. One strategy called “HyperBERA” raised attention: it involved arbitraging between Berachain and Hyperliquid exchange, showing D2’s creative cross-platform approach . The vaults typically open for deposits in epochs (for example, a vault might open for deposits for a week, then invest for a month). D2’s dashboard at d2.finance shows current strategies and performance. Early results have been promising: in Berachain’s first two weeks, D2 successfully capitalized on the extremely high yields (some over 1000% APY) by providing leveraged iBGT farming, delivering outsized returns to vault depositors (this was documented in their updates and community posts). D2 has also collaborated with other protocols – for instance, working with Dolomite and Kodiak to use LP tokens as collateral in their strategies .
Notable backers/partnerships: While D2 Finance hasn’t publicly announced VC funding, it underwent audits (Paladin audit completed) and garnered support from communities like The Archipelago (Kodiak’s incubator) and others. It was welcomed to Polygon’s DeFi incubator in mid-2024 and is connected to various ecosystem projects (the team often engages with Berachain core folks on Twitter). D2’s biggest asset is credibility through performance – for instance, it reportedly managed over $6 million in yield strategies across 4 chains and delivered consistent returns. In Berachain’s fast-paced environment, D2’s agile strategies (like quickly shifting to farm new BGT reward pools or exploit a funding rate spike) have earned it respect. The platform’s token (if any) hasn’t been launched yet; currently, revenue is likely taken as a performance fee. For users, D2 Finance represents a “outsourced brain” for complex DeFi – particularly useful on Berachain, where the combination of PoL rewards, new tokens, and market volatility can be dizzying to navigate alone. As Berachain grows, D2’s vaults could become a popular choice for those who want exposure to the ecosystem’s upside without micromanaging multiple protocols, effectively making D2 an active fund manager for the chain.
Dolomite – Integrated Margin Trading and Lending Hub
Dolomite is a next-gen money market + DEX hybrid that brings advanced trading capabilities to Berachain. It merges a traditional lending protocol with a margin trading platform, allowing users to lend, borrow, and trade with leverage in one place . If Beradrome is Berachain’s version of Curve/Velodrome, Dolomite is akin to its Aave plus dYdX. The Dolomite team has built on Arbitrum and other chains, and now serves Berachain as a key liquidity infrastructure.
Features: On Dolomite, users can deposit assets to earn interest (like any lending market), use those deposits as collateral to borrow other assets, and simultaneously open margin positions on a built-in DEX interface . Uniquely, Dolomite supports a very wide range of collateral and trading pairs. Thanks to a modular design, it can list potentially thousands of assets in a single lending pool – including yield-bearing tokens and LP tokens . This means you could, for example, deposit an Infrared iBGT token (which earns BGT staking rewards) into Dolomite; Dolomite will credit you interest for lending it out, and you’ll continue to earn the iBGT’s native staking yield concurrently . This “yield preservation” is a standout feature – normally if you deposit a staked asset into Aave, you stop earning the staking rewards, but Dolomite’s architecture avoids that opportunity cost .
On the margin trading side, Dolomite utilizes an integrated DEX (it can route trades through AMMs or its own orderbooks) to allow leveraged trading of nearly any pair . For instance, a user could long $BERA versus $HONEY using borrowed funds, or short a newly launched token by borrowing it and selling. Dolomite handles these as isolated margin positions, meaning each leveraged position is collateralized by specific assets and can be managed or liquidated independently . This isolated model reduces contagion risk (a bad trade on one asset won’t necessarily liquidate your entire account, only that position). It’s similar to how Mango Markets on Solana or dYdX on Starkware operate, but Dolomite is decentralized and supports AMM-based trading – so you’re not limited to a few markets, you can margin-trade any whitelisted pair.
Key differentiators: Dolomite’s all-in-one approach is its biggest edge. Instead of using separate platforms for borrowing and for trading, Dolomite combines them, which improves capital efficiency – your deposited assets can serve three purposes at once (earning interest, collateral for loans, and counting toward margin for trading) . The support for exotic assets and LP tokens as collateral sets Dolomite apart from the likes of Aave/Compound, which typically whitelist only standard assets. On Berachain, where lots of new tokens (and yield-bearing variants like iBGT, or LP tokens from Kodiak/Beradrome) are emerging, Dolomite can accommodate them, giving users flexibility to leverage almost any asset they hold. For example, you could deposit your LP tokens from Kodiak’s v3 pools into Dolomite and borrow HONEY stablecoin against them, all while still earning trading fees and KDK rewards on those LP tokens – effectively double-dipping on yield. This level of composability (Dolomite calls it “continued rewards on collateral”) is fairly unique .
Another differentiator is Dolomite’s margin trading UX: by handling multi-asset swaps in one transaction, users can do things like one-click leveraged yield farming (Dolomite will borrow and swap in a single TX to loop your position) or complex shorting strategies without needing multiple protocols . This significantly simplifies advanced DeFi strategies. Dolomite also touts isolated risk – each loan or margin position can be isolated, which means if you want to take a risky bet on a volatile token, you can do so in a separate bucket that won’t affect your safer holdings. This is safer than cross-collateral pools on Aave where all your deposits back all your borrows. In that sense, Dolomite aims to provide the best of both worlds: the breadth of Uniswap with the sophistication of a prime broker.
Status: Dolomite went live on Berachain in tandem with mainnet or shortly after. The team had its smart contracts ready (Dolomite v2) and had tested on Berachain’s late-stage testnet. By late February 2025, Dolomite was operational on Berachain, offering markets for major assets (BERA, HONEY, WETH, WBTC, USDC, etc.) and quickly adding support for Infrared’s iBGT and iBERA, Kodiak LP tokens, and other ecosystem coins as they gained traction. Dolomite is also multi-chain: it serves Arbitrum and others, which means it brings cross-chain knowledge and potentially liquidity. Early usage on Berachain has been robust – within weeks, Dolomite saw utilization from whales looking to leverage farm BGT (e.g. deposit large BERA, borrow HONEY to buy more BERA and stake it, effectively leveraging PoL rewards) and from traders hedging new tokens (shorting some overvalued meme token by borrowing it). The platform’s ability to handle such diverse needs made it a top 5 protocol by TVL on Berachain out of the gate, according to community dashboards, and it has been touted as a “foundational project” akin to what Aave is for Ethereum .
Notable backers/partners: Dolomite has not publicly announced a big fundraising round as of 2025, but it has a pedigree – the team has been building in DeFi since 2018 (Dolomite had an earlier iteration as a DEX). It’s part of Berachain’s RFA group and was highlighted by prominent analysts like 0xThoon as a cornerstone of Berachain’s DeFi . The project benefits from partnerships with others in the ecosystem: for instance, Dolomite integrated with Infrared to accept iBGT as collateral from day one, and collaborated with D2 Finance which uses Dolomite under the hood for some strategies . The team also hinted at working with Prime Protocol (a cross-chain lending protocol) to possibly allow using Dolomite positions across chains. Dolomite’s comprehensive approach has earned it a comparison to “Berachain’s Mango Markets”, and its success will likely grow as more assets come on-chain. With Berachain’s high yield environment, Dolomite stands to become the venue where serious traders and yield farmers manage leverage, making it indispensable. The protocol may eventually introduce its own token (for fee rebates or governance), but for now the focus is on growing usage and integrating deeply into the Berachain financial stack.
Euler Labs (bEuler) – Battle-Tested Lending on Berachain
Euler Labs is the team behind Euler Finance, a well-known Ethereum money market protocol, and they’ve deployed bEuler on Berachain as one of the chain’s first major lending markets. Euler gained notoriety on Ethereum for its innovative design (permissionless listing of assets with isolated risk) and, despite a high-profile hack in 2023, made a comeback with improved security. The arrival of Euler on Berachain brings a battle-tested lending platform into the ecosystem, giving users a familiar yet cutting-edge venue for borrowing and lending a variety of assets.
Project description: bEuler on Berachain functions similarly to Euler on Ethereum. It allows users to supply assets (earning interest) and borrow assets (paying interest) from pooled liquidity. Euler’s signature feature is its risk-tiered asset listings: it can list any ERC-20 asset but classifies them into tiers (collateral tier, cross-tier, isolation tier) to ensure that the risk of any given asset (especially long-tail volatile ones) doesn’t contaminate the whole platform. This means Berachain projects can potentially see their tokens listed on Euler permissionlessly, subject to governance risk parameters – a big advantage for the growing ecosystem. Euler also employs a novel interest rate model that reacts to utilization dynamically, often leading to more stable rates, and a twAP oracle mechanism for safety, avoiding reliance on single price feeds.
On Berachain, Euler has integrated support for the core assets: BERA, HONEY (stablecoin), and likely bridged USDC, plus major tokens (WETH, WBTC) and key ecosystem tokens (like Infrared’s iBGT, possibly Kodiak’s KDK, etc.). Users can, for example, deposit HONEY stablecoins and borrow WBERA to speculate, or vice versa, or earn yield on idle assets by lending them out. Liquidations on Euler are handled via Dutch auction (to prevent sudden swings and give arbitrageurs fair opportunities), which can be attractive to keep the platform solvent even in volatile conditions.
Key differentiators vs competitors: Euler’s primary differentiator is its permissionless listing and isolated risk model. Unlike Aave, which requires governance approval to list each asset, Euler allows any asset to be listed in isolated mode (where it cannot be used as collateral against other assets) and then progressively upgraded in tier as it gains liquidity and oracle reliability. This means bEuler could potentially host dozens of Berachain-native tokens quickly, giving them a lending market – something competitors like Silo Finance also aim to do, but Euler already has the full market UI for it. Additionally, Euler’s design prevented the cascading liquidations problem historically (though it faced a hack due to a specific vulnerability, that code has since been secured and audited heavily). Euler also introduced features like protected collateral (some assets can only be borrowed, not collateral, to mitigate risk) and sub-accounts, which advanced users can utilize to manage multiple positions under one address without cross-collateralizing.
By bringing these to Berachain, Euler stands out as perhaps the most sophisticated lending protocol on the chain. Its brand recognition is also a factor: many DeFi users know Euler and trust its contracts (post-recovery). This trust and familiarity can attract liquidity to Berachain – for instance, an Ethereum whale might be more comfortable lending in Euler’s Berachain deployment than an unproven local fork. Euler’s presence also fosters competition; Berachain will have multiple money markets (Euler, Silo, others), which can specialize. Euler likely will focus on long-tail asset lending (because of permissionless listings) and efficient capital usage (its tier system often allows lower collateral requirements for safer assets than generic pools do).
Status: Euler launched bEuler on Berachain in March 2025, coinciding with the chain’s explosive growth post-mainnet. They kicked off with an incentive program of 150,000 $BERA tokens provided by the Berachain Foundation to bootstrap liquidity . This reward attracted many depositors to supply BERA and HONEY into Euler’s pools to earn extra yield. The impact was immediate – in less than two weeks from launch, bEuler amassed over $58 million in deposits , a testament to the demand for borrowing/lending on Berachain and the Euler brand. This made Euler one of the largest dApps on Berachain by TVL early on. Borrowers took out loans to leverage farm or trade, while lenders enjoyed high interest supplemented by BERA rewards. Euler’s markets saw particularly high usage for HONEY (stablecoin) and BERA – with borrowers paying triple-digit APRs at times, indicating leverage demand on the core pair.
The security angle is worth noting: Euler deployed after thorough audits and after proving itself on Ethereum, which gives users confidence. The bEuler contracts on Berachain were essentially the same codebase that had been battle-hardened (with fixes post-2023 hack) and then deployed on other chains like Base. The Berachain community welcomed Euler’s arrival, even coining the phrase “Ooga booga, bEuler is live” (playing on the chain’s meme culture) . Key ecosystem tokens such as Infrared’s iBGT were quickly added to bEuler’s listings through Euler governance, expanding the utility of those tokens (e.g., one can borrow HONEY against iBGT now on Euler, doing a similar function to Beraborrow but with interest).
Notable backers/community: Euler Labs itself raised funding in the past (notably from Paradigm on Ethereum), but for the Berachain deployment the support came directly from Berachain Foundation via incentive alignment. The $150k BERA rewards and public accolades by Berachain’s team show that Euler is a strategically important protocol for the chain’s DeFi stack. The community traction has been excellent: being an established name, Euler attracted not just local Berachain users but also yield farmers from other chains coming to farm BERA rewards on a trusted platform. This helped Berachain bootstrap its lending liquidity quickly, which in turn improves capital efficiency chain-wide. We are seeing a virtuous cycle: Euler provides a safe place to park assets, which encourages more capital to flow into Berachain (for those yields), which then can be deployed into other Berachain projects. In effect, Euler Labs’ involvement accelerates Berachain’s growth. Euler will face competition (Silo Finance, etc., are launching on Berachain as well), but given its head start and feature richness, bEuler is likely to remain a top lending venue. The protocol’s governance token EUL might also find a community on Berachain if cross-chain governance is enabled. Overall, Euler’s move onto Berachain illustrates the chain’s pull: even established Ethereum protocols are expanding here to capture the momentum.
Fungify – NFT Lending and Indexes for the Bear Market (Literally)
Fungify is an NFT financialization platform that has expanded to Berachain, bringing sophisticated NFT lending and indexing products. Fungify’s mission is to “make NFTs fungible” – which it tackles via two products: Pools (NFT collateralized loans) and Index (fungible index tokens representing NFT baskets) . For Berachain, Fungify has rolled out Fungify Pools, a lending protocol that unlocks the value of Berachain NFT collections by letting holders borrow against their NFTs, and plans to introduce a Berachain NFT Index in the future .
Project description: Fungify Pools on Berachain is laser-focused on the chain’s unique NFT collections that embed vested BERA tokens (the various “Bears” collections like Bong Bears, Bond Bears, etc.). Normally, if you hold one of these NFTs, you have to wait as it periodically releases BERA to you. Fungify offers a solution: instantly borrow liquid assets against the NFT’s future BERA unlocks . Practically, this means you can use your Bong Bear as collateral to get a loan (likely in HONEY stablecoins or WBERA) equal to some discounted value of the BERA that the Bear will emit over time. Fungify evaluates the NFT’s vesting schedule and applies a discounted cash flow model to determine how much it’s safely worth today . Then, via an automated lending pool, you can borrow up to that amount. There’s no need to sell the NFT or wait months/years for full vesting – you get liquidity now . From the lender’s side, they are essentially lending HONEY to NFT holders and their loan is secured by the NFT plus its future BERA; if the borrower doesn’t repay, the lender can claim the NFT and the BERA that will unlock, presumably ending up profitable.
This model is somewhat akin to JPEG’d or BendDAO in concept (NFT collateral loans), but tailored to a specific use-case of vesting tokens. In fact, “for the first time ever, unlock the vesting BERA tokens in your Berachain NFTs—no waiting, no selling” is Fungify’s tagline , highlighting the novelty. The Pools protocol on Ethereum (which Fungify ran for 8 months prior) saw over $25M in cumulative loan volume , demonstrating its effectiveness. On Berachain, within one day of launch, Fungify Pools became the largest NFT lending platform, with $700k+ TVL as NFT holders rushed to tap liquidity .
The Fungify Index is the other piece: Fungify issues a token $NFT that is an index of blue-chip NFTs on Ethereum. Their plan is to create a Berachain NFT Index as well, potentially by using the Ethereum index as a base and bridging it . This would allow investors on Berachain to gain broad exposure to NFT markets (Ethereum and Berachain) via a single fungible token. The strategy is to funnel demand from many chains back into the main index on Ethereum, but also let each chain have its localized index that reflects its own NFT ecosystem . For Berachain’s vibrant NFT scene, an index could include the major Bear collections, Honey Jar NFTs, etc., and provide instant diversification or a way to bet on the overall growth of Berachain NFTs.
Key differentiators: Fungify stands out by focusing on vested token NFTs, a niche that didn’t exist on other chains. This is a clever exploitation of Berachain’s NFT culture: the Bear NFTs were a key part of early community (with ~$50M combined market cap) , but they had locked value. Fungify unlocked it. Compared to generic NFT lending like NFTfi or Arcade, Fungify uses pool-based lending with an algorithmic valuation model – meaning loans are instant and don’t require finding a specific lender or negotiating terms. By using a discount rate and DCF to price future token unlocks , it essentially treats the NFT like a bond or vesting contract, a very financial approach to NFTs. This yields fair and transparent pricing (they publish the formula) and likely lower risk for lenders than unpredictable art values. It’s a bit reminiscent of Alchemix (self-repaying loans) combined with NFT collateral: the borrower might repay the loan using the tokens as they unlock, effectively monetizing future yield now.
Additionally, Fungify’s cross-chain Index concept is unique. Their $NFT index token on Ethereum can be bridged to Berachain, and eventually Berachain’s own index can be bridged back, creating arbitrage and liquidity flows between chains . This multi-chain index arbitrage is a new idea – making NFT exposure portable and unified. It could bring more attention to Berachain’s NFTs from Ethereum NFT investors and vice versa.
Status: Fungify went live on Berachain mainnet in late February 2025. The team announced the launch on Feb 25, 2025, highlighting support for the six official Bear collections . At launch, interest rates for borrowing against Bears were high but quickly equilibrated as lenders poured in funds to earn yield. The platform likely set conservative loan-to-value ratios (perhaps ~50-60% of the DCF value) to account for risk. Over a few weeks, the system has proven stable, and a number of Bear holders effectively unlocked thousands of BERA worth of liquidity without selling their NFTs. The Index product is not live yet on Berachain, but the groundwork is laid – the Ethereum $NFT token exists (trading around $7-8 ), and bridging contracts are being audited. We can anticipate a “Bera NFT Index (Bear Index)” token being launched, which might be a composite of e.g. Bong Bears, Bit Bears, and Honey Jar NFTs by market cap.
Meanwhile, Fungify’s success on Berachain has made it a household name in the ecosystem’s NFT-Fi sector. It often appears alongside LiquidMint in discussions as complementary: LiquidMint gives NFTs inherent liquidity floors, and Fungify lets you borrow against (or short) that value. In fact, one could envision using LiquidMint and Fungify together – e.g., lock liquidity behind an NFT via LiquidMint to raise its floor, then borrow against that NFT via Fungify Pools. These are advanced maneuvers, indicating how quickly Berachain’s NFT-Fi is maturing.
Notable backers/community: Fungify is a fairly established project in NFT finance. While primarily a small team (founders are pseudonymous but known in NFT circles), they did raise funds at a ~$48M valuation in 2023 according to The Block (from investors like Hack VC, perhaps, who also invest in NFT infra like Goldilocks). They have partnerships with major NFT players and have been covered by outlets like Binance Research. On Berachain, their traction is organic – NFT holders needed liquidity, and Fungify delivered. The platform’s TVL and usage speak for themselves: topping Berachain’s NFT lending charts and making up a significant portion of total NFT market volume on the chain. The Berachain community, initially very NFT-centric, has embraced Fungify’s sophisticated tools. The combination of technical prowess and perfect product-market fit (Bears + locked tokens) makes Fungify a standout. We expect them to continue innovating, possibly enabling new features like NFT short-selling (through their index token or other means) on Berachain. In sum, Fungify has quickly become the backbone of NFT liquidity on Berachain, turning jpegs into cash flow assets and further blurring the line between NFTs and DeFi.
Infrared – Liquid Staking and PoL Infrastructure in One Click
Infrared is an infrastructure protocol central to Berachain’s PoL economy, often dubbed the “Lido of Berachain” and more. It provides easy liquid staking solutions for Berachain’s core tokens (BGT and BERA) as well as yield vaults that plug directly into the chain’s consensus . Infrared’s mission is to simplify user engagement with PoL – allowing anyone to stake and earn with one click – while maximizing value capture for the ecosystem .
What it offers: The flagship products of Infrared are iBGT and iBERA – liquid staking tokens. When users stake their BGT (Berachain Governance Token) via Infrared, they receive iBGT in return . iBGT is a transferable token representing their staked BGT plus accrued yield. This token can be used across DeFi (as collateral, in LPs, etc.), effectively unlocking liquidity from staked BGT. Similarly, staking BERA (the gas token) yields iBERA, a liquid staked BERA token . These operate akin to stETH (by Lido) – their value increases over time as staking rewards accumulate, or Infrared periodically distributes rewards to holders.
Infrared also provides PoL Vaults: these are vaults where users can deposit assets which Infrared then stakes or deploys in Berachain’s validator/liquidity reward system to earn BGT and other yields . Essentially, if a user doesn’t want to manage complex liquidity provisioning to earn BGT, they can just deposit into an Infrared Vault and let it handle that (perhaps holding a portfolio of LP tokens that are PoL-eligible). Infrared has built node infrastructure too – likely running validators and auto-compounding the rewards for users who stake through them.
All of this is delivered in a slick interface where the pitch is “Proof of Liquidity in one click” . For the end-user, instead of juggling multiple protocols, they go to Infrared, stake their assets, and get a liquid token plus additional yields. For the network, Infrared helps concentrate staking and liquidity provision in a reliable, user-friendly service.
Key differentiators: Infrared is the first major liquid staking provider on Berachain and is uniquely tailored to Berachain’s multi-token model. It’s not just staking the gas token (like Lido would do on Ethereum); it’s staking the governance token BGT as well, which is soulbound. This is interesting – since BGT is non-transferable, Infrared’s iBGT is one of the few ways users can get liquidity out of BGT . Infrared basically tokenizes the right to BGT rewards. The alignment with PoL is another differentiator: Infrared vaults likely directly interact with Berachain’s PoL smart contracts (which reward certain LP positions with BGT). By aggregating user funds, Infrared can optimize which pools to deploy to and compound yields. This is a bit beyond what typical liquid staking does and veers into yield aggregator territory, but focused on base-layer rewards.
Additionally, Infrared has strong backing and endorsement. It was the first project incubated by the Berachain Foundation’s “Build-a-Bera” program , and it secured significant funding – a $16M Series A led by Framework Ventures (total $18.75M raised) , with Binance Labs participating earlier . This war chest and official support give Infrared a leg up in building out infrastructure (servers, oracles for price feeds, etc.) and integrating widely. The Binance Labs involvement in particular suggests trust: Binance might see Infrared as key to Berachain’s growth (and perhaps use it to offer staking services via Binance).
For users, one big advantage is composability: iBGT and iBERA can be used across the ecosystem. We’ve seen projects like Beraborrow integrate iBGT as collateral , and DEXes listing iBERA/BERA pairs. Infrared effectively makes staked assets liquid and usable – improving capital efficiency chain-wide. It’s also non-custodial and transparent: users can always unstake via Infrared (though BGT has a long unbonding maybe, so they might trade iBGT instead).
Status: Infrared launched its services during Berachain’s testnet (where it quickly became the largest BGT delegator on testnet ) and went live on mainnet Day 1. On Feb 6, 2025 when Berachain transitioned to mainnet, Infrared was ready to accept real BGT and BERA stakes . Adoption has been strong: many users who received BGT in the genesis airdrop or through testnet immediately staked with Infrared to start earning more (since solo staking BGT on one’s own requires running infrastructure or trusting a validator, which Infrared simplifies). Within weeks, Infrared amassed a large amount of BGT stake – Coindesk reported it effectively bootstrapped a significant portion of Berachain’s validator set .
Infrared’s interface (infrared.finance) shows metrics like TVL and APR. As of March 2025, tens of millions of dollars in BGT and BERA are staked via Infrared. It also integrated directly with wallets and the official Berachain explorer (“Station”) to make staking seamless. The iBGT token is widely recognized; protocols like Ooga Booga (aggregator) support swapping it, and Origami leveraged vaults plan to use iBGT as a yield-bearing component . Essentially, Infrared has become a base layer service – much like how Lido is on many chains – and is deeply entwined with Berachain’s economics.
Notable backers/traction: As noted, Infrared is backed by Framework Ventures (a major DeFi VC known for early bets on Chainlink, Aave, etc.), Binance Labs, and was kickstarted by the Berachain Foundation . It’s rare for a chain’s foundation to incubate a project like this, underlining how important liquid staking is to Berachain’s strategy. The trust placed in Infrared translated to community adoption; users feel it’s the “official” way to stake, and the UI/UX has been praised for simplicity. The timing was also perfect: launching right at mainnet meant Infrared captured the hype and locked in users quickly.
One interesting alignment: Because Berachain’s consensus literally requires liquidity (BGT stake) to secure it, Infrared’s success = Berachain’s success. The more BGT staked, the more secure and robust PoL becomes. Infrared reported that its vaults and iBGT staking helped boost network security and user yields simultaneously . In the first month, BGT staking APR was extremely high (due to early emissions), and Infrared helped distribute that to as many users as possible rather than just a few validators – a very decentralizing force.
In summary, Infrared has quickly established itself as a linchpin of the Berachain ecosystem. Its combination of products (liquid staking tokens + PoL vaults) and heavy backing make it a safe bet that Infrared will remain dominant in its niche. We might see governance proposals via Infrared’s future DAO to steer its direction, and possibly a token (maybe $IRED) to decentralize control. But for now, it’s full steam ahead on getting everyone to stake and “make Beras work for you”, as their marketing implies . With Infrared, even complex PoL mechanics are abstracted away – a crucial step in making Berachain user-friendly for the masses.
Kodiak – Berachain’s All-in-One Liquidity Hub
Kodiak is a comprehensive liquidity hub on Berachain that blends a Uniswap v3-style exchange, automated yield vaults, and a launchpad under one roof . Branded with a bear theme (Kodiak bear), it positions itself as the “native liquidity layer” of Berachain, aiming to handle everything from everyday token swaps to concentrated liquidity management and even token launches (via its Panda Factory module) . If Beradrome focuses on governance-incentivized liquidity, Kodiak focuses on technical capital efficiency and user-friendly yield.
Components: At its core, Kodiak runs an AMM with both v2 (constant product) pools and v3 (concentrated) pools . Liquidity providers can choose simpler full-range pools or more capital-efficient concentrated ranges, just like Uniswap v3. Recognizing that managing v3 liquidity can be “sweaty” and complex, Kodiak introduces “Kodiak Islands” – these are automated vaults for v3 LP positions . An Island will actively rebalance a liquidity position to keep it in the optimal range, so LPs don’t have to constantly adjust or worry about being out-of-range. Essentially, it tokenizes a Uniswap v3 strategy (similar to Arrakis or Gamma on Ethereum). For users, providing liquidity via an Island vault makes it almost as hands-off as a v2 pool, but with the fee earnings of a concentrated position.
Kodiak further sweetens the deal with “Sweet Islands” which integrate Berachain’s PoL incentives – meaning, if you LP through Kodiak’s vaults, you can also earn BGT emissions if those pools are whitelisted . The platform is built to ensure its v3 liquidity stays in range and thus qualifies as genuine liquidity for PoL rewards (preventing gaming the system) . In addition to trading fees and potential BGT, Kodiak has its own token $KDK which it rewards to liquidity providers (similar to how Curve gives CRV or Uniswap had UNI incentives) . KDK can be staked (xKDK) and likely confers a share of fees or other benefits.
A standout feature is the Panda Factory – Kodiak’s no-code token launch and bonding curve platform . New projects can launch their token via Kodiak, set up an automated price discovery curve or liquidity bootstrap, and even lock liquidity permanently (harking to fair launch ideals) . This means Kodiak doubles as a launchpad, potentially competing with Ramen Finance but from a liquidity angle (e.g., a project could use Panda Factory to create a pool where early buyers provide BERA and get the new token while liquidity is automatically locked, establishing a price floor).
By combining these pieces, Kodiak offers users and projects a one-stop shop: swap tokens, earn yield by providing liquidity (with multiple layers of rewards), and launch new tokens. This vertical integration is how Kodiak differentiates – and it’s deeply integrated with Berachain’s PoL, ensuring participants get the chain-level incentives too .
Key differentiators: The triple-yield structure on Kodiak is arguably its biggest draw for LPs. Liquidity providers can earn trading fees, Kodiak’s KDK rewards, and BGT emissions from PoL on certain pools . This “stacking” of yield sources can lead to very high APRs – indeed, Kodiak pools often advertised combined APRs in the high double or triple digits early on. For example, a WBERA-HONEY pool whitelisted for BGT might give 0.3% fee + KDK incentives +, say, 25% APR in BGT – making it extremely attractive . Kodiak’s design ensures that the BGT incentives aren’t wasted on inactive liquidity; by using the Island vaults, they keep liquidity active, thereby legitimately earning the PoL rewards . This makes the Berachain foundation more comfortable allocating BGT to Kodiak pools, knowing it won’t be gamed.
Another differentiator is Kodiak’s massive early traction. It managed to capture a huge share of liquidity on Berachain extremely quickly. Reports indicated that within a short period, Kodiak held around $950M TVL, accounting for ~55% of Berachain’s total liquidity . These numbers are astounding for a new chain and suggest Kodiak successfully attracted both small LPs and large funds, possibly because of the promise of multiple rewards and the security of range vaults. Its trading volumes were also significant – ~$20M daily by estimates – indicating traders were using Kodiak as a primary DEX. In short, Kodiak essentially dominated Berachain’s liquidity early on, which is a differentiator in itself (network effects: more liquidity begets more traders begets more liquidity).
Kodiak’s community and marketing also set it apart: with a claimed ~130k Twitter followers pre-launch (some might have followed during testnet) , it built a large audience. It fostered an image as the “home base” for Berachain DeFi, coining terms like “Archipelago” for its ecosystem of partner projects (e.g., welcoming Origami Finance into its archipelago for synergy) . This demonstrates a collaborative approach – instead of fighting Beradrome or Ramen, Kodiak integrated with them (e.g., allowing Ramen-launched tokens or Origami vault tokens to be LP’d on Kodiak). This strategy of coopetition might be why so many in the community rallied behind Kodiak.
Status: Kodiak launched on Berachain mainnet in early 2025 and quickly rolled out its suite. By the time of writing, its AMM is live, several “Islands” vaults are operational, and KDK emissions are ongoing. Many new projects have indeed chosen Kodiak’s Panda Factory to debut – for instance, Goldilocks DAO’s $LOCKS token utilized Kodiak for initial liquidity and to set up its floor price mechanism, aligning with Kodiak’s up-only pool concept . The Berachain governance approved multiple Kodiak pools for BGT emissions in the first wave of reward vault whitelisting , cementing its central role. KDK token, with a fixed supply of 100M , was trading actively; early staking (xKDK) likely gave holders a share of protocol fees, though the token’s full utility (governance rights, etc.) will expand with time.
Not everything is perfect – managing such a large TVL means pressure to maintain high yields, and as more liquidity enters, yields can drop. Kodiak has to balance KDK emissions to sustain participation without overshooting (they’ve indicated KDK’s supply is not infinite, to avoid hyperinflation ). But with BGT incentives in play, they have an external tailwind for a while.
Notable backers/community: Kodiak itself has not announced a separate VC round publicly, but given its scale and polish, one can suspect it had significant investor or institutional mining involvement. Hack VC’s investment in Goldilocks mentioned Kodiak as part of the Berachain landscape , and some have speculated that major liquidity providers (perhaps ex-CEX market makers) are backing Kodiak due to the yields available. The community perception of Kodiak is very positive; many see it as the place to go for liquidity. The Kodiak team engages via Discord and Twitter actively, and the project has perhaps the widest community reach among Berachain dApps currently. They’ve successfully built a narrative that “Kodiak = deep liquidity = chain success”, which aligns with Berachain’s needs.
Looking forward, Kodiak will likely play a pivotal role in all major token launches on Berachain (especially if Ramen Finance focuses on fair distribution, Kodiak can focus on liquidity locking – projects might use both). Its integrated approach might also allow interesting loops (e.g., using an Origami leveraged vault token as LP on Kodiak to triple farm yields – an almost comical degree of composability, or as one commentator put it, a “yield orgy” on Berachain ). Kodiak is the embodiment of Berachain’s degen spirit combined with solid engineering – a standout execution that will be crucial to track as the ecosystem matures.
Ooga Booga – The Meme DEX Aggregator with Serious Backing
Ooga Booga is Berachain’s native liquidity aggregator, a platform that routes trades across different DEXs to find the best prices. With a playful caveman-themed brand name, Ooga Booga might sound like a meme, but it fulfills a vital role: as the “1inch of Berachain,” it ensures users get optimal swap rates by tapping into all available liquidity sources on the chain . In doing so, Ooga Booga simplifies trading and amplifies liquidity utilization in the ecosystem.
Project description: Ooga Booga’s front-end (oogabooga.io) offers a simple interface where users can swap any token for another. Behind the scenes, Ooga’s smart order router scans multiple DEX pools – like BEX, Beradrome, Kodiak, and any other AMMs – and figures out the cheapest way to execute the trade (considering price impact and fees). It might split the trade across venues or sequentially route it if needed. This is particularly important on Berachain because liquidity is fragmented among several DEXs (as we’ve seen, there’s Beradrome, Kodiak, and potentially others). Ooga Booga saves users the trouble of manually checking each exchange for the best price.
Furthermore, Ooga Booga can aggregate liquidity from different types of sources: not only AMMs, but possibly order books or lending protocols if those offer better rates (for example, a large swap could be done by borrowing one asset from Euler and selling it, etc.). Initially, it focuses on DEX pools. It essentially contributes to making Berachain more efficient by reducing slippage for trades and increasing volume for LPs (since it directs trades to them).
The team has embraced the Berachain meme culture – the app greets users with lines like “Unlock Berachain’s luscious liquidity” and features a cartoon cave-bear theme . But make no mistake, Ooga Booga’s engine is advanced; it’s akin to the aggregators on Ethereum (1inch, Matcha) but tuned for Berachain’s tokens and nuances.
Key differentiators: Ooga Booga’s main competitor would be if a cross-chain aggregator (like 1inch expanding to Berachain) showed up, but being first-mover on Berachain gave it a big edge. It has integrated all major Berachain DEXs from day one, including niche ones – for instance, as soon as Dolomite launched with its internal pools, Ooga integrated it, as soon as a new micro-AMM spins up, Ooga is likely to cover it. This comprehensive coverage means Ooga Booga often offers the best rates in one click, which is a selling point for users (especially larger traders).
From a business perspective, Ooga Booga does not charge the user extra; instead it can monetize via slight routing fees or by being an airdrop candidate for the projects it integrates (some aggregators get retroactive rewards from protocols for volume driven). But notably, Ooga Booga raised a significant $1.5 million strategic funding round in January 2025 led by Primal Capital, with participation from funds like CitizenX, Quantstamp, Rubik, ViaBTC Capital, TempleDAO, and angels from Infinex, GMX, etc. . This diverse backing (including security auditor Quantstamp and major exchange ViaBTC) indicates that Ooga Booga isn’t just a meme project; investors see it as core infrastructure. This funding helps in rapidly improving its aggregation algorithms and perhaps incentivizing usage.
Another differentiator for Ooga Booga is community engagement. It’s a meme-heavy, community-friendly brand that has done giveaways and built a following among the “Beras.” The name itself (“Ooga Booga”) became an inside joke representing degenerate trading on Berachain. They smartly harnessed that by adopting slogans like “Ooga booga, number go up” – which ironically encapsulated what many traders want. By having this cultural resonance, Ooga Booga managed to capture a large user share quickly. According to ChainCatcher, by early 2025, Ooga Booga was already widely used by Berachain traders as the go-to aggregator .
Functionally, Ooga Booga’s differentiator is ease and efficiency: one-click access to all liquidity. For example, if a user wanted to swap a large amount of HONEY to BERA, doing it on a single DEX might incur 5% slippage due to limited depth. Ooga could split the swap between Kodiak (which has deep stable liquidity) and Beradrome (which maybe has HONEY incentives), and get a better average rate, perhaps reducing slippage to 2%. This is money saved for the user and is the primary value Ooga delivers.
Status: Ooga Booga launched during Berachain’s testnet (with a faucet and test tokens to trial the aggregator) and then fully launched on mainnet by mid-February 2025. It immediately saw heavy usage as new tokens were launched and traders looked to arbitrage or reposition. The aggregator’s volume grew in tandem with the chain’s TVL. Unique user counts were bolstered by Berachain’s own incentives – the Berachain team allocated some BERA to early application users via the RFA program, and Ooga Booga users likely qualified for those airdrops, adding to usage. By March 2025, Ooga Booga had facilitated a large share of high-volume trades on Berachain (though exact metrics aren’t public, anecdotal evidence from large trades posted on Twitter shows Ooga often used for any sizable swaps).
The UI continues to improve, and the team might integrate cross-chain swaps in the future (imagine swapping ETH on Ethereum for BERA on Berachain in one go via Ooga if they integrate a bridge). For now, it’s Berachain-focused. Ooga also launched some fun features like an on-chain game called “Boink” during testnet (where users could “boink” for a chance at BERA prizes) – showing they like to keep the community engaged and attract even non-traders to their platform.
Notable backers/community: As mentioned, the investor lineup is impressive for an ecosystem project, and it even includes Quantstamp, hinting that security is taken seriously (maybe Quantstamp will audit Ooga’s contracts or was impressed enough to invest). TempleDAO (an established DeFi community) and GMX individuals linking up shows that Ooga Booga has credibility beyond just Berachain insiders. This may help Ooga when bridging to other chains or integrating more services.
The community love is strong – Ooga’s social media is full of memes but also retweets of users praising how much better a trade they got via Ooga vs direct DEX. Over time, if Berachain has dozens of DEX-like venues (including NFT AMMs or fixed income markets), Ooga Booga could aggregate those too, evolving into a universal aggregator for all on-chain liquidity on Berachain.
In summary, Ooga Booga combines meme flair with a fundamentally important utility. It has quickly become part of the daily trading flow for many users. Its success is a reminder that in new ecosystems, aggregators are just as crucial as base protocols – they tie everything together. Going forward, we anticipate Ooga Booga might release a token or reward scheme (many aggregators do eventually) – perhaps aligning with BGT incentives or its own token to decentralize routing decisions. Until then, it’s doing the (cave)man’s work of ensuring every trader can get the best deal in the land of honey and BERA.
Origami – “Leverage for Dummies” Vaults on Berachain
Origami Finance brings automated leverage farming to Berachain. Describing itself as “the premiere composable leverage protocol for dummies” , Origami aims to make complex leveraged yield strategies as easy as depositing into a vault. In practice, Origami packages the old DeFi looping trick (deposit collateral, borrow stablecoin, buy more collateral, repeat) into one-click Leveraged Vaults (lovTokens), and actively manages the position’s health so users don’t have to . It essentially allows users to maximize yield on yield-bearing assets without the usual hassle and risk of liquidation.
How it works: Consider a user who has a yield-bearing token (YBT) like Infrared’s iBGT (earns BGT yield) or an LSD like stETH. Traditionally, that user might try to leverage farm it: deposit iBGT into a lending protocol, borrow HONEY, buy more iBGT, deposit again, etc., to amplify returns. Origami automates this via a flash loan-powered vault. The user deposits their asset into an Origami vault, and Origami immediately uses flashloans to lever it up to a target LTV (loan-to-value) in one transaction . Now the user’s deposit is, say, 3x larger (they effectively are long 3x iBGT). As the yield-bearing asset generates rewards, the vault can even use those to pay down debt or further compound.
Crucially, Origami’s vault monitors the position’s health and maintains a near-constant LTV . It will automatically de-lever or re-lever as needed to avoid liquidation. For example, if the collateral value falls, the vault may use some of the deposited collateral to pay back part of the loan (lowering LTV), preventing liquidation – this might involve swapping a portion of collateral to stable and repaying debt. Conversely, if collateral grows, it might borrow more to keep LTV at target. This dynamic adjustment is Origami’s special sauce, essentially managing liquidation risk on behalf of users . The end result: users get the benefits of leverage (higher yield, more exposure) without constant oversight.
Origami launched on Ethereum first with vaults for assets like EtherFi’s weETH (to farm ETH staking points) and Ethena’s sUSDe (to farm BTC Sats) , targeting various “points farming” campaigns. On Berachain, Origami will offer vaults around Infrared’s iBGT, Goldilocks’s LOCKS token, and other Berachain-native yield assets . For instance, an “oriBGT” vault (likely what they’ll call the leveraged iBGT product) that auto-compounds iBGT by borrowing HONEY to buy more iBGT. In fact, the team teased “oriBGT” as an auto-compounding iBGT vault with compounding every ~10 minutes via Ooga Booga aggregator, which attracted over $1.3M in deposits on testnet . This shows strong demand for such a product.
Key differentiators: Origami’s proposition is simplicity and safety in leverage. Traditional yield farmers have done self-leveraging, but it’s tedious and risky. Platforms like Gearbox have offered managed leverage via credit accounts, but Origami’s vaults are arguably more user-friendly (you just hold a vault token like lovToken). The non-deprecated nature of lovTokens on Berachain is also a plus – on Ethereum they were tied to point-farming campaigns with expiry, but on Berachain these vault tokens will remain useful even after initial campaigns . Moreover, Origami is making these vault tokens tradable and LP-able. Kodiak’s integration means you can provide liquidity with a leveraged token (e.g., pair lovToken with HONEY) to earn even more, and those LPs could even earn BGT . This composability (leverage on leverage) is crazy from a traditional risk view but speaks to Berachain’s appetite for maximizing yields. Essentially, Origami produces a new class of interest-bearing tokens (lovTokens) which themselves can become building blocks in DeFi. Few protocols so directly turn leverage into a token – another example is Alchemix (with alUSD self-repaying loans), but Origami covers more assets and uses flash loans to optimize instantly.
Origami’s integration into Kodiak’s Archipelago means their vault tokens might be incentivized on Kodiak (earning KDK, etc.), which is a differentiator – it’s not just an isolated strategy, it’s plugged into the broader liquidity ecosystem . For competitor landscape, one might think of products like Idle Finance’s Perpetual Yield Tranches or Yearn’s yVaults that do some leverage internally, but Origami is more targeted and aggressive in leveraging specific yield streams and using protocol incentives. Also, Origami is multi-chain (Ethereum + Berachain), showing it’s not a local clone but an experienced team.
Status: Origami was welcomed to Berachain by Kodiak in July 2024 during testnet , and since then they prepared vaults for mainnet. They likely timed their launch to coincide with Berachain mainnet or shortly after, once Infrared and Goldilocks were up (since those provide the yield sources). As of early 2025, Origami has deployed at least one vault (oriBGT) on Berachain with significant deposits by users hunting high yields . Additional vaults for assets like LOCKS (Goldilocks governance), HONEY (maybe leveraging stablecoin yield), or even LP tokens could be in the pipeline. For example, one could imagine an Origami vault that leverages a HONEY/BERA LP position by borrowing HONEY to add more liquidity – though that starts to intersect with projects like Beradrome’s oBERO or D2’s strategies.
The performance of Origami vaults will depend on market stability: they aim to avoid liquidation, but extreme volatility could still challenge them. However, because Berachain offers a lot of “risk-free” yields (like simply staking BGT for more BERA), Origami’s vaults can be constructed in a way that mostly avoids directional exposure. In Eth terms, it’s like leveraging stETH – main risk is ETH price drop, but if managed, you mostly care about staking yield outpacing borrow cost. On Berachain, early yields are extremely high, so Origami vaults have a big spread to exploit (e.g., if BGT staking yields 100% APY and HONEY borrow costs 20%, you have 80% net – with 3x leverage that’s 240% APY minus fees). These are made-up numbers but indicate why Origami vaults on Berachain could show eye-popping APYs initially.
Notable backers/community: Origami is part of Kodiak’s Archipelago alliance, indicating a partnership or investment from Kodiak . They were also a Berachain RFA project . The team behind Origami is somewhat under the radar publicly, but their product speaks for itself. Given that on Ethereum they engaged with Ethena, EigenLayer points, etc., they are clearly DeFi power users. The community is growing to understand Origami – initially, leverage scares some people, but as they see the vault working (and not getting liquidated through normal dips), confidence builds. Origami also stands to benefit from yield-hungry Berachain users who might have missed initial airdrops or farming – they can deposit assets into Origami to catch up on high yields.
One consideration: Origami vaults might eventually issue a token or share fees with users beyond just the vault growth. Right now, they likely take a performance fee (like 10% of yield or something), which users are fine with if APYs are high. The presence of Origami ensures that Berachain’s many incentive programs (BGT emissions, partner point campaigns, etc.) translate into max yield for those who want it, without requiring expert knowledge. It lowers the skill barrier: you don’t need to figure out optimal loops, Origami did it.
In conclusion, Origami Finance brings a crucial “money lego” to Berachain: automated leverage vaults, which amplify the impact of other protocols (Infrared, Goldilocks, etc.). It fits the narrative of Berachain as a place where unusual mechanics (like PoL) can be gamed for high rewards – except now that “gaming” is done professionally and packaged neatly by Origami. Keep an eye on how their vaults perform during market swings, but if successful, Origami could become a staple for yield maximizers on Berachain, akin to how Yearn vaults became staples on Ethereum for farming.
Ramen Finance – Fair-Launch Token Launchpad of the Bears
Ramen Finance is the native token launchpad protocol on Berachain, designed to facilitate fair and efficient token distribution and liquidity bootstrapping for new projects . Just as a hearty bowl of ramen brings ingredients together, Ramen Finance brings together new protocol teams and the Berachain community, aiming to cook up launches where everyone gets a fair bite. It emerged from the community (funded by NFT sales rather than VC) and has a mission to **“democratize” token launches, avoiding the typical pitfalls of insider sales or mercenary liquidity .
Project description: Ramen provides a suite of launch mechanisms – think of it like a combination of ICO platform + Balancer Liquidity Bootstrapping Pools (LBPs) + community governance. For each project launch, Ramen sets up a liquidity bootstrapping pool (Ignition) where the token price is discovered in a controlled way, often starting high and decreasing (like Copper launches) to let the market find a fair price . This ensures even those who come slightly later can get a reasonable price, mitigating gas wars or bots snagging cheap tokens instantly. Ramen also emphasizes broad participation: using whitelists or community allocation for Berachain loyalists (like Hungry Bera NFT holders, etc.) to ensure distribution isn’t just gobbled by a few.
One of Ramen’s innovations is the (3,3) ecosystem concept in its launch model . They reward users who contribute meaningfully to liquidity and governance with enhanced allocations in upcoming launches . For example, users who stake Ramen’s own token $RAMEN to get gRAMEN (governance RAMEN) or who provide liquidity might get guaranteed or larger allocation in partner launches. This creates a positive-sum incentive: the more you support Ramen and Berachain (by locking tokens, providing liquidity), the more opportunities you get in future launches, aligning everyone’s interests. It’s reminiscent of OlympusDAO’s (3,3) but applied to launch participation.
Ramen Finance originally considered building a DEX, but strategically pivoted to focus on the launchpad as its core product , believing this would better serve the ecosystem’s needs. By being launch-focused, they can specialize in that niche rather than competing in the already crowded DEX space.
The $RAMEN token powers the platform: users can lock RAMEN to receive gRAMEN, which is used for governance votes (e.g., approving new launches or parameters) and crucially, determines one’s allocation weight in launch events . So, those who stake more RAMEN long-term effectively get VIP seats at the table for new token sales.
Key differentiators: In the context of launchpads, Ramen’s key differentiator is its community-first approach and deep integration into Berachain’s economy. Many launchpads (like Polkastarter, etc.) focus on raising for projects but often involve hefty private allocations and fees. Ramen is community-funded (no big VCs), with no private token sales of RAMEN – this gives it credibility when it preaches fair launch. The initial distribution of RAMEN was to Hungry Bera NFT holders and early community (21% to them as gRAMEN , etc.), which means Berachain OGs literally own the launchpad.
Additionally, Ramen’s use of LBP-style liquidity bootstrapping pools is a modern technique proven to result in fairer price discovery (used by projects like Radiant, etc.). By making that a standard part of launches, Ramen helps new tokens avoid the “pump and dump” often seen with pure fixed-price sales. It also automatically creates initial liquidity – the pool used for the LBP can seamlessly become the project’s liquidity pool afterwards on Berachain DEXs, “bootstrapping” deep liquidity from day one . This synergizes with Berachain’s PoL too – that liquidity can then earn BGT if funneled into whitelisted pairs.
Ramen’s curated approach (they plan “Curated Launches” with strong projects and partners ) means they likely vet projects and perhaps even collaborate with them (like requiring audits, etc.). This curation helps maintain quality and trust – crucial in a new ecosystem to avoid scams. Being seen as the preferred launchpad for “Berachain-native protocols and high-potential ecosystem projects” backed by community support is a big differentiator: if you’re a project launching on Berachain, doing it via Ramen might signal legitimacy and gain you an engaged initial user base.
Status: Ramen Finance had a long gestation on testnet (over a year of building since late 2023), and as Berachain mainnet approached, they announced they were fully audited and ready to deploy . They launched the platform in Q1 2025, along with the $RAMEN token distribution. The token supply is 100 million, with no further emissions (fixed supply) , and a large portion (64.65%) is vested to community over 12–18 months to incentivize long-term involvement rather than instant dumps. This means the launchpad itself followed a fair launch ethos: community NFTs became tokens, no VC unlocks to fear, etc.
By mainnet, Ramen lined up 10+ launch partners waiting to go , indicating a healthy pipeline. Early launches are expected to include some of the RFA projects – likely those without their own strong launch mechanisms. Possibly names like BeraRoot, Honey Jar, or smaller GameFi/SocialFi tokens could debut via Ramen. The first launch events will be a critical proof of concept: if they go smoothly (no bots sniping everything, projects raise enough and retain liquidity), it will establish Ramen as the place to launch on Berachain. Already, Ramen had built hype with its Hungry Bera NFT holders, who were promised allocations. As mainnet came, Ramen’s Discord and Twitter were buzzing with “when launch, when ramen” – the appetite was strong.
Notable backers/community: Ramen is proud of being community-funded – their Hungry Bera NFT sale was essentially the fundraiser (21 million RAMEN allocated to those NFT holders ), which suggests that the community itself believed in the idea enough to pay into it. The team is anonymous but active, often referencing “cooking” analogies. They garnered support from Berachain core (the foundation folks often mention Ramen when talking about ecosystem readiness). While no VC backers, they are likely collaborating with all major teams (for example, many RFA projects probably share advisors or contributors with Ramen, fostering a collaborative network).
In terms of traction: by virtue of promising allocations to early supporters, Ramen ensured it has a ready army of users who will participate in launches (since they have gRAMEN to spend). This seeding of participants addresses the cold start problem most launchpads face. As those users invest in new launches and (hopefully) profit or see good outcomes, it creates a virtuous cycle encouraging more participation and more new projects to choose Ramen.
Ramen’s success will be measured by the quality of projects it launches. If even a couple of “Berachain unicorns” originate from Ramen launches that do 10x for participants, it will cement Ramen’s reputation. Conversely, if a launched project rugs or fails, it could hurt trust. Thus Ramen has an incentive to curate diligently and perhaps even incubate projects through their process. Given their careful planning and the emphasis on “equitable token distribution and transparent price discovery” , the outlook is optimistic.
To conclude on Ramen: it serves a vital role in channeling Berachain’s enthusiastic community and abundant liquidity into new innovations on the chain. It aligns incentives so that both builders and the community win – builders get fair launch and loyal users, community gets early access and shared success. In an ecosystem as community-driven as Berachain (born from an NFT meme), it’s fitting that its token launchpad is equally community-centric. The narrative of “no VCs, no insider unlocks – just bears helping bears” resonates strongly. As Berachain grows, Ramen Finance is poised to be the springboard launching the next wave of Berachain dApps, all while keeping things fair and decentralized. Everyone’s hungry for the next big thing, and Ramen’s kitchen is open.
Watchlist: Emerging Berachain Projects to Keep an Eye On
Berachain’s ecosystem is growing fast, and beyond the projects deep-dived above, there are numerous up-and-comers pushing the envelope in DeFi, infrastructure, NFT-Fi, and beyond. Here’s a curated watchlist of notable projects worth tracking for their high potential, unique mechanics, or strategic alignment with Berachain’s honeycomb economy:
• Goldilocks DAO – An ambitious DeFi suite introducing novel AMM and lending designs. Goldilocks has a “Goldiswap” AMM with dual liquidity pools (Price Support and Floor Support) that guarantee an ever-increasing price floor for its LOCKS token , enabling interest-free, non-liquidatable loans against staked tokens at floor price (like an Alchemix-style self-repaying loan). It also built Goldilend, an NFT lending platform for Bong Bear NFTs , and Goldivaults that split yield from principal for trading future yield streams . With Hack VC as an investor and mainnet launch already live (LOCKS token launched with a rising floor mechanism) , Goldilocks is pushing DeFi innovation on Berachain’s core assets. Its approach to liquidity and yield – ensuring token floors and allowing yield to be sold separate from principal – is unusual and could be game-changing in stabilizing token economies. If their designs work, Goldilocks might become a backbone for sustainable DeFi yields on Berachain.
• Timeswap – A decentralized lending protocol without oracles or liquidations, offering fixed-term, fixed-rate lending and borrowing . Timeswap uses a unique AMM-based model (3-variable constant product) where loans are non-liquidatable and have fixed maturity . This means borrowers on Timeswap cannot be liquidated mid-term; instead, they must repay by maturity or lenders can claim collateral then. This model eliminates oracle risk entirely . On Berachain, where many assets are volatile or new, an oracle-free lending option is highly valuable. Timeswap’s design naturally isolates risk by each pool’s parameters (maturities, etc.). It’s a battle-tested protocol from Ethereum now expanding to Berachain, likely attracting more conservative DeFi users who want fixed-term loans and predictable yields. Keep an eye on Timeswap as a complement to Euler/Silo – it could become the go-to for structured, time-bound lending deals (and it’s already deployed on testnet). Its “no liquidation” promise could appeal to NFT holders or anyone with unpredictable collateral, fitting well with Berachain’s vesting NFTs or long-tail tokens.
• Silo Finance – An isolated lending markets protocol that creates independent lending pools for each asset pair, thereby containing risk to only that pool . In Silo, each asset (say Token X) gets its own “silo” where it only directly lends and borrows against a bridge asset like HONEY. This prevents contagion risk – if one asset collapses, it doesn’t drag down the entire platform . Silo V2 enables permissionless creation of these twin-asset markets, letting even small cap tokens have a lending market without threatening others . As Berachain sees many new tokens, Silo can list them safely, offering isolated lending where Euler might not list due to risk. Silo’s focus on risk isolation aligns perfectly with Berachain’s need to onboard many experimental assets. The team has hinted at launching on “Sonic,” which is Berachain’s canary network, and we expect Silo to be live on mainnet soon after. With a strong safety model and having recently launched on other chains, Silo is poised to become a key piece of Berachain DeFi, likely working in tandem with Euler (Euler for broader markets, Silo for niche ones). If you seek yield on exotic assets or want to lend without fearing cross-market contagion, watch Silo’s rollout on Berachain.
• Fortunafi – A Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization platform bringing off-chain yield onto Berachain. Fortunafi securitizes real-world loans and streams the yield to DeFi users by issuing tokens backed by those assets . Essentially, it pools and tokenizes things like invoices, revenue streams, etc., to offer higher-yield investment products on-chain . Having raised $9.5M and operating on other chains (Blast, Arbitrum) , Fortunafi is targeting Berachain likely to launch a stablecoin or yield-bearing token fully backed by RWAs. This could be transformative: connecting trillions in real-world credit markets to Berachain’s PoL system. Imagine a Fortunafi stablecoin that is backed by real loans but also earns BGT when deposited in a Berachain vault – a blend of real-world yield and PoL incentives. Fortunafi’s presence would diversify Berachain’s largely crypto-native TVL with more stable, external yield sources (like ~8-10% yields from real estate or trade finance). Given Berachain’s community is DeFi-savvy, an RWA product could gain traction, especially if it outperforms on-chain stable yields. Keep an eye on Fortunafi’s Berachain integration and any stablecoin launch – it might become the “MakerDAO” of Berachain, issuing a Honey-backed RWA stable and offering institutional-grade yield to DeFi users .
• Bear Arena – The first large-scale GameFi project on Berachain, Bear Arena is a fully on-chain RPG-style game that combines real-time strategy and card battle gameplay . Players collect and battle with Bear-themed NFTs in a decentralized world, and the game plans to integrate DeFi elements (like using Berachain tokens for upgrades, yield-bearing in-game assets, etc.). Bear Arena’s significance lies in its cultural resonance (built around the Bear IP that started Berachain) and its potential to onboard a broader user base (gamers) to Berachain. The Interchain info describes it as merging gaming with DeFi , so expect in-game economies that tie into Berachain’s liquidity (perhaps players stake HONEY for rewards or earn NFTs that have BERA vesting). As the first major blockchain game on Berachain , Bear Arena is worth watching for user growth – if it takes off, it could drive transaction volume and cross-pollinate DeFi (gamers turning into yield farmers). The team has partnered with infrastructure (like Fable platform for storytelling ) and has been active on testnet. With mainnet, Bear Arena might launch its token (possibly via Ramen) and kickstart Berachain’s GameFi sector. Given its on-chain gameplay and NFT trading, it will also test Berachain’s performance and could spur improvements. In short, Bear Arena could become Berachain’s Axie Infinity or CryptoKitties – a killer DApp that brings new users and showcases the chain’s capability. It’s one to keep on your radar especially if you’re interested in the intersection of gaming and DeFi in the Berachain ecosystem.
These projects, among others (like BeeBank’s social betting, Wasabi’s on-chain perps, BeraCares charity DAO, and more), illustrate the vibrancy and breadth of Berachain’s emerging landscape. Each brings something unique – from safer lending to real-world yields to gamified finance – aligning with Berachain’s ethos of “liquidity meets innovation.” As Berachain matures, expect these watchlist projects to evolve rapidly, possibly collaborate (we already see lots of cross-integration), and in some cases, contend for dominance in their niches.
In conclusion, Berachain’s ecosystem in 2025 is a hive of innovation, buzzing with projects like the ones we’ve explored. From Beraborrow’s interest-free loans to Ramen’s fair launches, and the likes of Infrared, Kodiak, and Ooga Booga supercharging liquidity, each project plays a role in weaving Berachain’s honeycomb economy. What’s striking is the level of community alignment and composability – these protocols aren’t building in isolation, but rather building on each other. Governance tokens like BGT and iBGT flow through multiple protocols (borrowed on Beraborrow, staked via Infrared, leveraged by Origami, auctioned on BGT Market), NFT assets get financialized by platforms like LiquidMint and Fungify, and liquidity gets recycled through DEXes, vaults, and aggregators. Berachain’s novel Proof-of-Liquidity design underpins much of this activity, rewarding the projects and users who contribute to the network’s liquidity and security .
As an editorial observation, the narrative of Berachain’s rise is reminiscent of early Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain days – a burst of creativity and sometimes experimental economics, backed by a passionate community (“Bera” enthusiasts). The difference is Berachain learned from predecessors: many of its projects explicitly aim to avoid known pitfalls (Ramen avoiding unfair launches, Beraborrow avoiding governance complexity, Goldilocks preventing bank run scenarios with floors). The result is an ecosystem that feels both pioneering and oddly robust for its age.
Investors and users should remain discerning – not every project will succeed, and high yields always carry risk – but the direction is promising. The presence of serious backers (Framework, Binance Labs, well-known DeFi angels) alongside the meme lords suggests Berachain is getting both the capital and the culture right. Keep an eye on our watchlist, as those could be the next breakout stars (or cautionary tales) of Berachain. If one thing is clear, it’s that Berachain’s slogan – “aligned liquidity is magic” – is being put to the test in real time, and so far, the spell is captivating. Whether you’re here for the tech or the memes (or both), Berachain’s honey-sweet DeFi realm in 2025 is well worth the deep dive. 🍯 Bera vamos!
Sources:
• Berachain Top 10 Projects – Flagship (2024)
• Infrared Raises $16M – CoinDesk (2025)
• ChainCatcher News – Ooga Booga funding (2025)
• Fungify Launch on Berachain – Fungify Blog (2025)
• Goldilocks Investment – Hack VC Blog (2024)
• Timeswap Documentation (n.d.)
• Silo Finance Overview – Ainvest (2024)
• Bear Arena Description – Followin/Interchain (2024)
• Ramen Mainnet Launch – Ramen Medium (2025)