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.

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.

Source https://docs.berachain.com