Article reposted from: Web3 Farmer Frank

Written by: Web3 Farmer Frank

With the mainnet launch approaching, how can one simply and effortlessly capture the most BGT/BERA on Berachain?

With Movement, Fuel, and others gradually issuing tokens, Berachain, based on the PoL (Proof of Liquidity) mechanism design, has become one of the few emerging public chains still attracting attention. However, this also builds a 'high wall' for ordinary users to participate.

From how to participate in Boyco pre-deposit to selecting DAPPs, calculating yield strategies, to dynamically participating in governance voting, each step imposes high requirements on on-chain experience and operational ability, hindering the vast majority of users from maximizing their opportunities to capture BERA, and currently, there are almost no available simplifying tools.

It is worth noting that StakeStone has just launched the market's first one-stop Berachain liquidity provision product, the 'Berachain Vault', designed to simplify the transition from Berachain pre-deposit activities to liquidity mining under the POL mechanism. This aims to assist ordinary users in easily participating in the Berachain ecosystem and seizing early dividends through a one-stop service.

Can this Vault product become a 'fast track' for retail investors to participate in Berachain? This article will explore the potential and value of this product in reducing thresholds and optimizing yield management, starting from the demands of emerging ecosystems represented by Berachain, in conjunction with the core design of the StakeStone Berachain Vault.

Berachain: The 'flywheel' and 'high wall' of the POL mechanism

When it comes to Berachain, its core innovation, the Proof-of-Liquidity (POL) mechanism, cannot be overlooked. Users must provide liquidity to specific liquidity pools to earn corresponding BGT (a governance token that can be converted to BERA) rewards. The verification nodes delegated by BGT holders vote to decide which liquidity pools can receive more BGT emissions.

Doesn't it feel familiar? If we replace Berachain with Curve, switch the POL mechanism to the ve model, and change BGT to CRV, the operational logic of the two has a striking similarity—on Curve, CRV holders gain veCRV with voting weight through different lock durations. The obtained veCRV with voting weight can then be used to vote on which trading pair pools can receive subsequent CRV token emissions. In other words, Berachain can be simply understood as a 'public chain version of Curve' or a public chain operating based on the ve model.

Under the POL mechanism, the voting of verification nodes directly impacts the emission and distribution of BGT, which will undoubtedly greatly stimulate ecological projects to actively create various liquidity incentive plans to compete for more BGT emissions, forming a 'bribery' ecology similar to that on Curve.

However, Berachain has deeply embedded this logic into the underlying architecture of the chain, creating a highly collaborative 'community of interests' among users, verification nodes, and DApps.

Ideally, the success or failure of verification nodes and DApps should align with their interests, motivating the former to allocate more BGT emissions to high-transaction volume and active DApps, which would then attract more users to participate in liquidity pools through increased incentives for LP users, resulting in more substantial yields from these high-transaction pools.

As more users flock into liquidity pools for high returns, the governance support for DApps and the scale of liquidity further increase, thus vying for more BGT emission rights. This continuously expanding liquidity and governance weight will not only grow the scale of the protocol but also attract more users and funds into the ecosystem, gradually forming a strong positive feedback loop.

But new questions arise. Once the Berachain mainnet goes live, how should ordinary users judge and choose where to provide liquidity to maximize their returns?

Whether it's the selection of verification nodes, the selection of ecological projects, or the selection of liquidity pools, each layer of choice faces the need for in-depth research on a dozen options. This undoubtedly constitutes a 'high wall' for participants.

Compared to Curve, the Berachain ecosystem undoubtedly also needs a whole ecosystem project to serve users, among which the voting delegation platform Convex and the one-stop yield platform Yearn.finance will also be indispensable components in addressing the core pain points of ordinary users on Berachain.

Typical user dilemmas include:

  • Information asymmetry: The yield conditions and governance weight distribution of different DApps/liquidity pools are in dynamic flux, requiring retail investors to invest time and effort to track and research each project's dynamics to make optimal choices.

  • Disadvantage of scale effects: The liquidity contribution of individual retail investors is small, making it difficult to compete with large funds or professional players for emission rights, and it is hard to achieve scale effects through individual participation.

  • Complexity of operations: Managing liquidity, participating in governance voting, and optimizing returns simultaneously impose a high threshold for ordinary users; a slight misstep may result in missing the best opportunity, such as failing to adjust voting direction in time or reallocating liquidity, which can directly affect overall returns.

Under such demand, the all-chain liquidity asset protocol StakeStone has launched the innovative product Berachain Vault, specifically designed for the Berachain ecosystem, becoming the earliest one-stop Berachain mining service platform officially recommended by Berachain.

StakeStone Berachain Vault: One deposit, two networks, multiple yields.

In the context of DeFi, a 'Vault' is an automated investment strategy designed to simplify the user experience. Users only need to deposit assets, and the protocol will automatically execute a series of financial transactions to maximize returns through various strategy combinations. However, traditional Vault products, while providing convenient asset management, have significant limitations in yield appreciation and liquidity release.

On one hand, the assets deposited by users are usually non-yield-generating native assets like ETH, which, despite having high market recognition, do not directly generate yields. On the other hand, liquidity often gets locked within the Vault, making it difficult to utilize further and limiting the investment flexibility of users.

As stETH, pufETH, rzETH, and other yield-generating assets gradually become mainstream, Vault products have evolved to support these assets with embedded yield logic, enabling them to not only capture basic returns from PoS staking but also further enhance returns through liquidity mining, lending, and other combination strategies, maximizing users' investment returns.

That raises an interesting thought: if the liquidity locked in the Vault were also released in the form of Vault LP Tokens and allowed to participate in various DeFi yield scenarios, wouldn't that maximize multi-layered returns?

Taking the newly launched Berachain StakeStone Vault as an example, it is an innovative product that not only continues the asset management function of the Vault but also, through the innovation of Vault + Vault LP Token, opens up all dimensions of multi-layered yields for users.

  • Encapsulating the LP assets of the Berachain Vault into yield-generating assets: Users wishing to participate in the Berachain ecosystem can deposit LP assets (yield-generating or non-yield-generating) such as ETH, STONE, etc. The Vault receives the assets and, through liquidity mining and governance yield strategies under the POL mechanism, maximizes returns for specific liquidity scenarios, encapsulating them into yield-generating Vault LP Tokens (like beraSTONE).

  • Based on the encapsulated yield-generating assets for DeFi yield combinations: Subsequently, Vault LP Tokens can be used in various mature DeFi infrastructures on Ethereum, creating a unique parallel universe structure: the source of yield is in Berachain and other chains, while the yield-generating activities occur on the Ethereum mainnet. This structure simultaneously leverages the high yields of the new chain and the ample funds and mature DeFi infrastructure of the Ethereum mainnet, offering the potential to become a new paradigm in the DeFi market.

In the design mechanism of Stakestone, the encapsulated Vault LP Token has top-tier composability like ETH—it can participate in Uniswap liquidity mining, Aave/Morpho collateral lending, and even be split into PT and YT in Pendle, further amplifying returns.

Thus, if examined closely, the true innovation of the StakeStone Berachain Vault lies in linking Berachain's emerging ecosystem with Ethereum (or other EVM chains) through secondary utilization and deep release of an asset, forming a 'multi-layer yield' flywheel effect.

  • First layer of yield: PoS yields from the underlying yield-generating assets: Users can deposit ETH to obtain STONE and other all-chain liquidity assets, covering the underlying PoS yields of ETH.

  • Second layer of yield: POL yields from the Berachain ecosystem: STONE deposited into the StakeStone Berachain Vault can earn liquidity mining yields under the POL mechanism in the Berachain ecosystem, further encapsulating this layer of yield into Vault LP Tokens (like beraSTONE).

  • Third layer of yield: Diversified DeFi strategy yields on Ethereum: The Vault LP Token in the form of beraSTONE can be utilized on Ethereum through leverage, liquidity mining, and other strategies to further increase yields.

Thus, by combining the ecological characteristics of Berachain with the diverse on-chain yield scenarios on Ethereum, the StakeStone Berachain Vault realizes the multiple reuse of an asset from emerging markets to mature ecosystems, maximizing returns while completely releasing liquidity potential, significantly enhancing the utilization efficiency of individual assets, and bringing higher capital liquidity and market recognition to the Berachain ecosystem.

Through these two assets, users can earn high BERA yields under the Berachain liquidity proof (PoL) mechanism, as well as achieve yield stacking in mature ecosystems such as the Ethereum mainnet. More importantly, by participating in the StakeStone Vault, users can lock in future governance tokens STO in advance.

During the event, users holding or using beraSTONE and beraSBTC can participate in a reward pool of a total of 15 million STOs, including 8.25 million Bera-Wave point rewards (awarded in points, settled at TGE) and an additional 4 million STO rewards during the Boyco event; additionally, the first 10,000 early bird users (deposit ≥0.042 ETH or ≥0.0015 BTC) will receive an extra incentive of 150 STO each.

So how can one earn Bera-Wave points? It mainly consists of the basic points rules + DeFi acceleration rewards (the referral reward mechanism can be seen in the detailed process below):

1. Basic points rules:

  • Holding 1 beraSTONE earns 1 point per hour;

  • Holding 1 beraSBTC earns 25 points per hour (points accumulate hourly, no additional action required);

2. DeFi acceleration rewards—depositing beraSTONE or beraSBTC into the following DeFi protocols can significantly increase point accumulation speed:

  • Uniswap provides liquidity: 5 times the basic points reward.

  • Precise liquidity range (±0.1%): when the liquidity range remains within the current price ±0.1%, it can earn 6 times the basic points reward (requires continuous activity).

  • More protocol support: Future protocols such as Pendle and Morpho will be launched to provide more reward opportunities and further enhance point yields.

Overall, these rewards cover Berachain PoL, the Boyco protocol, future ecosystem yields, and the future token airdrop from StakeStone, which can be described as 'a fish that eats many meals,' providing users with comprehensive opportunities to participate in Berachain & StakeStone, with a very simple operational process.

1. Enter the StakeStone Vault interface and click 'Deposit' to access the StakeStone Berachain Vault interface.

2. Connect your wallet in the top right corner.

3. Input the invitation code to receive a 10% points boost reward (code can be 91852), share your personal invitation code on Twitter for more commission rewards (20%).

4. Deposit ETH/STONE/WETH to earn beraSTONE; deposit SBTC/WBTC/cbBTC/BTCB to earn beraSBTC (not yet launched). Holding beraSTONE or beraSBTC can earn points.

  • Only Ethereum mainnet assets are allowed. If not, please click 'Switch Network' to switch to the Ethereum mainnet.

  • Select the asset to deposit on the left, enter the amount, and then click the 'Deposit' button. Confirm in your wallet.

5. Participate in DeFi protocols to earn more rewards.

It is worth noting that the Berachain mainnet has yet to be launched, so the initial operation of the StakeStone Berachain Vault will primarily target the Berachain pre-deposit protocol Boyco. The funds deposited in Boyco can not only earn direct BERA token rewards during the pre-deposit period but will also be mapped 1:1 to the mainnet, laying the groundwork for comprehensive access to the future Berachain mainnet.

Once the Berachain mainnet goes live, the core functionality of the Vault will switch to the POL system of the Berachain mainnet, providing users with a one-stop Berachain liquidity mining service.

This gradual deployment path not only reduces technical and operational risks but also provides early users the opportunity to participate in the liquidity construction of the Berachain ecosystem, allowing users to seize the liquidity advantage before the Berachain mainnet goes live and capture early liquidity mining yields in the Boyco protocol.

Will StakeStone Vault be a new solution for on-chain emerging ecosystems?

From the perspective of Berachain alone, the Berachain StakeStone Vault provides the earliest pre-deposit channel in the market, making it the preferred tool for seizing dividends and maximizing returns.

Especially during this critical window period when the Berachain mainnet is about to launch and the mining mechanism is set to start, it can help ordinary users to lock in early dividends from the new ecosystem without facing complex technical operations, allowing retail investors to participate fairly in the ecological yields of Berachain.

However, from the broader perspective of the emerging blockchain market, the significance of this product goes far beyond this. It not only provides an innovative liquidity management solution for Berachain but also offers an entirely new development approach for the entire emerging ecosystem—encapsulating the yields of emerging ecosystems into yield-generating assets and connecting them with more mature mainnet infrastructures, thus becoming an important pipeline for cross-ecosystem liquidity and yield management.

This mechanism is particularly suitable for emerging markets like Berachain and Movement, as they often face challenges such as insufficient liquidity and incomplete infrastructure during cold starts or early ecological development. The Vault product previously launched in cooperation with Plume has preliminarily validated the feasibility of this model, and this StakeStone Berachain Vault can be seen as a further deepening of this model.

Its core value lies in allowing a user's asset to be reused across multiple ecosystems, maximizing returns while releasing liquidity potential.

  • Lowering the participation threshold for emerging ecosystems: Users can seize ecological dividends through the Vault without complex operations, allowing more people to efficiently participate in local yield capture in ecosystems like Berachain, thus achieving broader user coverage.

  • Enhancing the attractiveness of emerging ecosystem assets: By encapsulating assets traditionally locked away into liquidity and yield-generating Ethereum mainnet assets through the Vault LP Token mechanism, not only is the efficiency of asset utilization improved, but the attractiveness of emerging ecosystem assets is also enhanced.

  • Connecting mature networks to enable the flow of value: The yield-generating assets (beraSTONE) encapsulated by the Vault can seamlessly connect to mature financial infrastructures such as the Ethereum mainnet, further amplifying asset yields, while the Berachain ecosystem can establish deeper collaborative relationships with the global DeFi market.

This means that the StakeStone Vault product can not only capture local yields of emerging ecosystems but also encapsulate assets like LP into yield-generating assets, endowing them with higher-dimensional financial attributes. This allows them to access liquidity markets like Ethereum, which is more abundant and mature, enhancing fund efficiency.

The complexity of Berachain's POL mechanism and the initial asset management demand make it the best testing ground for the StakeStone Vault model. The mechanism of the Vault not only effectively addresses the liquidity bottleneck of Berachain during its cold start phase but also injects more application scenarios and yield paths into its ecological assets.

On one hand, the automated strategies within the Vault help users efficiently capture local yields from liquidity mining and governance rewards; on the other hand, the encapsulated yield-generating assets can participate in multi-layered yield scenarios in more mature ecosystems, such as Uniswap liquidity mining, Aave collateral lending, and even Pendle yield splitting.

This mechanism not only enhances the compounding ability of asset yields but also promotes the acceptance and recognition of emerging ecosystems like Berachain. As more emerging ecosystems continue to develop, the demand from users for asset yields and fund efficiency will undoubtedly become increasingly complex, meaning that the innovative mechanism of the StakeStone Vault actually provides a dynamically adaptive asset management approach that allows it to develop different asset yield stacking and secondary utilization based on any emerging ecosystem, further enhancing investment returns.

Within this framework, the StakeStone Vault is not only an efficient asset management tool but also an important bridge connecting emerging ecosystems with mainstream blockchain ecosystems.

Conclusion

Whether in traditional finance or the DeFi world, improving capital efficiency has always been the ultimate pursuit of all players.

For on-chain yield products, how to simply and safely maximize returns and make every dollar work at its best can also be viewed as the eternal 'muse' of the market. From this perspective, the StakeStone Berachain Vault and its underlying StakeStone Vault product structure actually provide a very interesting new paradigm for emerging public chains.

By using the Vault, which embeds multiple yield paths as a bridge, we simplify the participation threshold for users and enhance the appeal to external funds while packaging the yields within the ecosystem into a liquidity-generating asset, thus achieving seamless integration of local yield opportunities with the mainstream on-chain DeFi market, exploring a more ideal starting point and long-term growth path for the entire emerging ecosystem.

In the future, whether this model can become a universal solution for emerging ecosystems, or even grow into a multi-billion dollar on-chain financial narrative, still needs time to be tested. However, the vision and practice of StakeStone Berachain Vault may be one of the best paths for us to approach the answer.