Berachain

A new consensus model. A bear-themed brand. And one of the most debated token launches in recent memory. Berachain is trying something radically different. Instead of just rewarding validators, it pays liquidity providers—turning the traditional blockchain incentive model on its head. But not everyone is convinced. Some critics say too much of the token supply went to VCs. Others question whether “proof of liquidity” can actually work at scale. In this episode, Smokey, Chief Smokey Officer at Berachain, joins Unchained to break it all down. Why did Berachain choose to make itself EVM-identical? What really happened with the token launch? And what’s next? Show highlights: 1:47 How Smokey got into crypto and how that led to the founding of Berachain 7:24 What proof of liquidity is and what problems it solves 12:06 Whether there’s an incentive problem in how BGT and BERA are designed 16:03 Why Smokey believes the EVM has the “largest capital base” 21:12 How Berachain leveraged culture to accrue network effects 26:23 How Berachain achieved so much TVL growth 30:01 What Smokey thinks about the big allocation of BERA to VCs 35:38 How the bear-themed NFTs were born 39:26 How the project was able to buy back a portion of the tokens sold to VCs 40:58 Whether Smokey should have done things differently when launching the token 43:21 Smokey’s response to the criticism of private participants staking BERA 46:57 Why Smokey believes that the inflation will be useful for ecosystem growth 52:23 What’s next in Berachain’s roadmap Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com Thank you to our sponsors! Bitwise Guest: Smokey the Bera, Chief Smokey Officer at Berachain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Smokey

Chief Smokey Officer

Berachain

In this episode, we speak with Smokey the Bera, co-founder of Berachain, about the project’s newly launched mainnet and its innovative Proof of Liquidity model. The discussion unpacks Berachain’s unique three-way relationship between its app layer, validators, and a nontransferable governance token that reimagines traditional proof of stake systems. Smokey explores both the potential benefits and the challenges of this economic experiment as it seeks to reshape blockchain economics. We also spotlight our sponsor Morpho, whose cutting-edge integration of DeFi with traditional finance is driving new opportunities in the market. ------ 📣 MORPHO | GO-TO LENDING INFRASTRUCTURE https://bankless.cc/Morpho ------ BANKLESS SPONSOR TOOLS: 🪙FRAX | SELF SUFFICIENT DeFi https://bankless.cc/Frax 🦄UNISWAP | SWAP ON UNICHAIN https://bankless.cc/unichain ⚖️ARBITRUM | SCALING ETHEREUM ⁠https://bankless.cc/Arbitrum 🛞MANTLE | MODULAR LAYER 2 NETWORK https://bankless.cc/Mantle 🌐CELO | BUILD TOGETHER AND PROSPER https://bankless.cc/Celo 🎮RONIN | THE FUTURE OF WEB3 GAMING https://bankless.cc/Ronin ------ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Start 05:10 How Did Bera Come To Be? 09:43 Starting With Community 12:09 The Memetic Roadmap 14:43 Proof Of Liquidity 20:41 The Triangle Based Loop 33:26 Liquidity Provisioning 35:21 Discovering Equilibrium 38:28 How To Grow Market Share 43:53 Bera and Monad 47:13 Addressing Criticism 53:51 2025 Roadmap ------ RESOURCES Smokey - https://x.com/smokeythebera ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Smokey the Bera

Co-Founder

Berachain

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of Layer 1 ecosystems with the founders of Monad and Berachain. The conversation explores the intricacies of community building, brand development, and the challenges of attracting developers. Keone and Smokey share their strategies for ecosystem growth, discuss the importance of interoperability, and offer their vision for the future of decentralized applications. To close out we discuss the role of tokens in project development and the delicate balance between technical innovation and user adoption. Thanks for tuning in! - - Start your day with crypto news, analysis and data from Katherine Ross and David Canellis. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire?utm_source=podcasts Follow Keone: https://x.com/keoneHD Follow Smokey: https://x.com/SmokeyTheBera Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - The 6th edition of Meridian, a web3 conference hosted by the Stellar Development Foundation is happening in London, England October 15-17, 2024. Learn more and get your early-bird priced tickets now at meridian.stellar.org by using the code BLOCKWORKSPOD. - - Step into MyPrize—the online multiplayer casino that lets you battle your friends and play alongside creators. On MyPrize, you're invited to get rowdy and share every victory and defeat with your pals. Because we know the only thing more fun than beating the house is beating your friends. Get started with $20 free when you deposit or purchase of $10 or more: https://myprize.com/invite/Empire - - Harpie sets the standard in on-chain security, actively monitoring and safeguarding your crypto wallet against theft in real time. It detects, blocks, and recovers stolen assets from risky transactions before they execute, shielding you from even the most advanced hacks and scams. Harpie is free to use and compatible with all Ethereum, Base, Polygon, and Arbitrum wallets. Protect your crypto today at harpie.io. - - Renaud Partners has built the most elite network of native crypto marketers globally. They create custom, expert teams to support founders with transformative strategy work. If you’re a founder or a VC looking for support for your teams, head on over to RenaudPartners.com or give their co-founder Geoff a follow on x at https://x.com/ReoffGenaud - - Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:19) Community & Culture of L1s (09:55) Ecosystem Exclusivity (13:33) Risk of Mercenary Devs (21:21) Founder Brand Building (27:51) Advice to App Builders (32:49) Differentiation in L1 Space (38:18) Crypto BD Today (46:09) Stellar Ad (47:00) Invisible North Ad (47:54) MyPrize (48:31) Harpie Ad (49:45) Future of Eco Apps (58:28) Role of Interop (01:03:12) What is App Success? (01:07:28) Monad & Berachain Competitors (01:19:28) Price & Tokens - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Keone Hon

Co-Founder & CEO

MonadMonad Labs

Smokey the Bera

Co-Founder

Berachain

Smokey the Bera is the pseudonymous co-founder of Berachain — a Layer 1 network that raised $100 million in a Series B back in April. In this episode, Chaparro and Smokey discuss how memetics influences community building, and unpack Berachain's innovative 'proof of liquidity' consensus, where users earn governance tokens by contributing liquidity to the ecosystem. OUTLINE 00:00 Introduction 04:42 Berachain Conception 14:08 Ecosystem 'Politics' 15:58 The Power of Memetics 20:31 Tri-Token Model 27:43 Layer-1 "BD War" 32:39 Smokey's Inspiration 35:02 Aligning Incentives 39:17 Identifying Passion 42:49 Berachain Roadmap This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Polkadot Polkadot is the blockspace ecosystem for boundless innovation. To discover more head to polkadot.network The Block Community The Block is launching a new community experience for fans of The Scoop! Follow us on Lens to stay in the loop: hey.xyz/u/theblockcommunity The Block Newsletters The Block's newsletters bring you the latest news and analysis of the fast-moving crypto and DeFi markets. To subscribe, visit theblock.co/newsletters

Smokey the Bera

Co-Founder

Berachain

This week, we invite Smokey The Bera to the show for a discussion on one of crypto's most anticipated Layer 1's... Berachain. We deep dive into building through the bear market, infra vs apps, proof of liquidity & much more. Enjoy! -- Perennial is an on-chain derivatives protocol built from first principles to be a DeFi primitive. The core protocol is minimalist, flexible, and efficient, allowing Perennial to mold to the needs of many different users & use cases. Perennial has a super efficient core protocol that lets LPs use native maker leverage — allowing $1mn in TVL to back to $5-10mn in Open interest. Trade and LP at: https://perennial.finance/1000x Social: https://x.com/perenniallabs -- Follow Avi: https://twitter.com/AviFelman Follow Jonah: https://twitter.com/jvb_xyz Follow 1000x: https://twitter.com/1000xPod Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3FuSarX Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (2:46) The Berachain Origin Story (9:58) Base Layer Apps & Chain Security (13:58) Perennial Ad (15:30) Infra vs Apps (24:54) Building Berachain In The Bear Market (32:58) What Defines Success? (43:42) Proof Of Liquidity (51:19) Crypto Fatigue -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 1000x is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Avi, Jonah and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Smokey the Bera

Co-Founder

Berachain

In this episode, Santi interviews Smokey, the co-founder of Berachain, a new layer 1 blockchain built on the concept of "proof of liquidity". They dive deep into Berachain's origin story, starting from its conception as a series of NFTs to its current state of development. Smokey explains the core ideas behind proof of liquidity, how it aligns incentives between network security and liquidity, and how it compares to other blockchain consensus mechanisms. They also discuss Berachain's roadmap, the types of applications being built on it, and the biggest challenges and risks Smokey foresees as they approach mainnet launch. - - Follow Smokey: https://twitter.com/SmokeyTheBera Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz Follow Santiago: https://twitter.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7 Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Arbitrum is a game-changer for daily Ethereum's users and developers, offering top applications and lower fees. As the leading scaling solution with 600+ apps, explore Arbitrum’s Portal to find your perfect fit. Interact with the home of DeFi, a flourishing NFT and creator ecosystem, and a rapidly growing Web3 gaming hub – Arbitrum has it all.  Get started at: portal.arbitrum.io  - - Harpie is the most advanced on-chain security solution for monitoring and protecting your crypto wallet from theft in real time. Harpie detects, blocks, and recovers compromised assets from malicious transactions before they execute, and is the only security tool to also protect users from off-chain signature attacks like the recent Ledger Connect Kit exploit. Secure your wallet for free at harpie.io. - - Get the freshest price feeds free for 12 months. Join Supra’s early integration program for zero-cost access to the fastest oracles and dVRF across 50+ blockchains: supra.com/blockworks Earn $1,500 by referring Web3 projects to use Supra services. The projects get the fastest services for free, and you earn $1,500 for every referral. Learn more at the link above. - - Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (03:06) Berachain Origin Story (11:08) Proof of Liquidity (22:46) Journey of Berachain & Roadmap (29:34) Why Build on Berachain (43:54) Arbitrum Ad (44:40) Harpie Ad (45:53) Supra Ad (46:50) Value Accrual (57:30) MEV & Block Ordering (01:01:21) Scaling Berachain (01:07:55) Building in Crypto - - Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Smokey the Bera

Co-Founder

Berachain