Berachain is rolling out the next phase of its proof-of-liquidity system, expanding governance and emissions beyond its native BEX pools.
Up until now, only Berachain’s (BERA) native exchange, BEX, was used to distribute rewards. Other decentralized applications will be able to apply for incentives through new reward vaults starting on Mar. 24, according to Berachain’s official announcement. This will help them expand by drawing liquidity.
Everything changes Monday. On March 24th, PoL goes live, and governance proceeds to Phase 1.
Incentives start flowing. New vaults start getting emissions.
Here’s what changes and what's next. pic.twitter.com/wkw10CkWWf
— Berachain Foundation 🐻⛓ (@berachain) March 20, 2025
Liquidity pools from multiple decentralized finance platforms have been included in the initial set of vaults, with more to be added later. This has opened up a more transparent system where users have more control over how incentives are allocated and projects vie for rewards.
With Berachain’s PoL model, assets remain active in DeFi, in contrast to traditional proof-of-stake blockchains, where users lock up tokens for security. Network activity is limited in PoS systems because staked tokens are frequently not available for lending or trading.
The system used by Berachain ensures that validators send back some rewards to the network rather than keeping them. Applications that boost activity on the blockchain and aid in its growth receive these rewards. The governance token, BGT, gives holders the ability to vote on which validators and projects receive support, thereby determining how these rewards are distributed.
The first approved vaults focus on DEX liquidity pools, which allow users to swap tokens easily. These pools were selected based on their liquidity, security, and importance to the network. Liquidity pairs on BEX, Kodiak, Beradrome, and other protocols featuring key assets like BERA, HONEY, and BGT, as well as major stablecoins, are among the first approved vaults.
Berachain has grown rapidly since launching its mainnet on Feb. 6. The platform now has $3.1 billion in total value locked and almost $1 billion in circulating stablecoins. The trading volume in February alone was $1.9 billion, according to DefiLlama data.
Following launch, BERA hit an all-time high of $18.82 before falling to its present range of $6.03–$6.93. The network has a fully diluted volume of $3.37 and a $728 million market capitalization as of Mar. 24. The new governance initiative is expected to attract more users and contribute to further growth of the blockchain.
