Berachain is one of the most talked-about new blockchains, but its token launch sparked major debate. Smokey joins Unchained to explain the vision, the criticism, and what’s next.

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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:

• How Smokey got into crypto and how that led to the founding of Berachain
• What proof of liquidity is and what problems it solves
• Whether there’s an incentive problem in how BGT and BERA are designed
• Why Smokey believes the EVM has the “largest capital base”
• How Berachain leveraged culture to accrue network effects
• How Berachain achieved so much TVL growth
• What Smokey thinks about the big allocation of BERA to VCs
• How the bear-themed NFTs were born
• How the project was able to buy back a portion of the tokens sold to VCs
• Whether Smokey should have done things differently when launching the token
• Smokey’s response to the criticism of private participants staking BERA
• Why Smokey believes that the inflation will be useful for ecosystem growth
• What’s next in Berachain’s roadmap

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

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