What is Berachain?

Berachain is a high-performance EVM-compatible blockchain built on Proof-of-Liquidity consensus. Proof-of-Liquidity is a novel consensus mechanism that aims to align network incentives, creating strong synergy between Berachain validators and the ecosystem of projects. Berachain's technology is built on Polaris, a high-performance blockchain framework for building EVM-compatible chains on-top of the CometBFT consensus engine.

Why should you get involved?

Berachain hasn't released their native token, BERA. Early testnet users might get rewarded with an airdrop.
It's a testnet airdrop, which means it's free! In addition, they have 42M in funding, with the mainnet anticipated for Q2.

How to farm

Step 1:
Visit https://www.berachain.com/
I enjoyed scrolling through their website. You can only go up, which is pretty cute imo.


Step 2:
Click on 'Try it now' to get involved in their testnet.
You can scroll up now and claim your testnet tokens by inputting your wallet address.

To add Berachain to your metamask, you can follow the steps on this page: https://docs.berachain.com/learn/how-to-connect-a-wallet-with-berachain
...or simply add this info to your MetaMask wallet
Make sure the info is correct here. I initially had issues with it because the RPC URL wasn't the right one for some reason.


Step 3:
From there, you can scroll back down and explore different apps.
You can also access these apps by clicking on 'dApps' at the bottom of the screen.
Berachain announced their testnet went live around 10 hours ago as of writing this post. The dApps were a bit buggy in my experience, but this is not unusual for a testnet. I would recommend checking out these apps later to interact with them.

EVM-Compatible vs EVM-Equivalent
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Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is Ethereum's runtime environment for executing smart contracts, providing a secure and isolated space for running code written in smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.
EVM comes with a set of supported operations known as opcodes (ADD, PUSH, POP, etc), supported smart contract languages (Solidity, Vyper, etc) which compile down to EVM bytcode, and supported tooling (Remix, Hardhat, etc) which are purpose-built for the EVM.

EVM-Equivalent
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An EVM-equivalent blockchain is designed to replicate the entire functionality and environment of the Ethereum Virtual Machine. It aims to be a drop-in replacement for Ethereum, supporting all the same operations, smart contract languages (like Solidity), and tools.
The goal is to create a seamless experience for developers and users transitioning from Ethereum to the new network, requiring minimal changes to existing code or infrastructure.
EVM-equivalent chains ensure full compatibility with Ethereum's ecosystem, facilitating easier migration of decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, and assets.

Examples
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• Sidechains
• Layer-2 (L2) Blockchains

EVM-Compatible
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An EVM-compatible blockchain is designed to support some level of interoperability with Ethereum's smart contracts and tools, but it does not necessarily replicate the entire EVM environment.
The chain provides a degree of compatibility, making it easier to port applications and assets.
EVM-compatible chains might support Ethereum's smart contract languages and tools to a certain extent, but there could be differences in functionality, performance, or security features.

Examples
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• Forked EVM Layer-1 (L1) Blockchains
• Some L2 Blockchains

Berachain EVM
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Berachain is an EVM-compatible L1 blockchain built on-top of the Cosmos-SDK that supports all the same tooling, operations, and adds additional functionality built into the chain that optimizes for proof-of-liquity and typical abstracted use-cases (DEXs, Oracles, etc).
You could even consider Berachain as an "EVM-equivalent-plus" blockchain.
Berachain Modular First
Berachain is built using Polaris EVM, a framework developed by Berachain for building a modular stack to easily separate the EVM runtime layer.

Proof Of Liquidity Overview
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The Berachain economic model Proof-Of-Liquidity (PoL) is consensus mechanism and cutting-edge approach to blockchain governance that aims to address the critical challenges faced by decentralized networks.

High-Level Model Objectives
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1. Systemically Build Liquidity - Contributes to efficient trading, price stability, network growth, user adoption, and the successful operation of decentralized applications.
2. Solve Stake Centralization - Helps contribute to the integrity of chain, avoid block space manipulation, and prevent against a monopoly. Read More On The Risks Of LSD
3. Align Protocols and Validators - Better integrates validators into the protocol and gives better incentives through liquidity provider (LP) pools, bribes, governance tokens, and more to ensure the long-term health of the chain.