Berachain RPC: Proof-of-Liquidity and the Tri-Token Model

Berachain launched its mainnet in February 2025 with a bold thesis: what if validator rewards were tied to liquidity provision instead of raw staking? Built on the BeaconKit framework with CometBFT consensus, Berachain is fully EVM-identical while introducing a novel Proof-of-Liquidity model and a tri-token system that's reshaping how DeFi incentives work.

What Berachain actually is

Berachain is an EVM-identical Layer 1 designed specifically for DeFi applications. Unlike chains that bolt DeFi onto a general-purpose platform, Berachain's entire architecture — from consensus to tokenomics — is built around liquidity and on-chain economic activity.

Key specs:

• Chain ID: 80094 (0x138DE)
• Block time: ~2 seconds
• Finality: ~2 seconds (CometBFT BFT)
• Gas token: BERA
• Consensus: Proof-of-Liquidity (BeaconKit + CometBFT)
• EVM compatibility: EVM-identical (Solidity, Foundry, Hardhat work unchanged)

The architecture combines three core innovations:

1. Proof-of-Liquidity: Instead of rewarding validators for staking tokens and doing nothing, Berachain ties validator rewards to liquidity provided to the ecosystem. This aligns chain security with actual economic activity.

2. Tri-token model: BERA (gas token), BGT (non-transferable governance token earned by providing liquidity), and HONEY (native stablecoin). Each token has a distinct role, preventing the governance-utility token confusion that plagues many chains.

3. BeaconKit framework: Built on CometBFT consensus but fully EVM-identical. You can deploy existing Solidity contracts without modification — no rewrites, no new language.

The RPC: Standard Ethereum JSON-RPC

Because Berachain is EVM-identical, it exposes the standard Ethereum JSON-RPC interface. If you've built against Ethereum, you already know how to query Berachain.

# Chain ID
curl -s -X POST https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_chainId","params":[],"id":1}'
# -> {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x138de"}

# Latest block
curl -s -X POST https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'
# -> {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x18d6e6b"}  # ~26M

The core methods work as expected:

Gas fees and block structure

Berachain's gas fees are consistently low, typically under 1 gwei for standard transactions. The ~2-second block times mean transactions confirm quickly, and CometBFT's BFT consensus provides deterministic finality in the same timeframe.

# Gas price
curl -s -X POST https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_gasPrice","params":[],"id":1}'
# -> {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":"0x3b9aca00"}  # 1 gwei

# Block with transactions
curl -s -X POST https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_getBlockByNumber","params":["latest",false],"id":1}'
# -> {"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"number":"0x18d6e6b","timestamp":"0x6a9bafb3","transactions":[...]}}

The tri-token model: BERA, BGT, and HONEY

Berachain's tokenomics are unlike any other chain. Instead of a single token trying to be everything, Berachain uses three tokens with distinct roles:

BERA is the gas token. You need BERA to pay for transactions, just like ETH on Ethereum. It's transferable and tradeable.

BGT (Bera Governance Token) is non-transferable and earned by providing liquidity to the ecosystem. BGT is used for:

• Voting on validator reward distribution
• Directing emissions to specific protocols
• Governance proposals

You can't buy BGT on an exchange — you earn it by providing liquidity. This ties governance power to actual economic contribution.

HONEY is Berachain's native stablecoin, pegged to USD. It's overcollateralized and minted through the Bend protocol.

The key insight: by separating gas (BERA) from governance (BGT), Berachain avoids the "governance token as utility token" problem. BERA holders pay for transactions; BGT holders govern the chain. No conflict.

Proof-of-Liquidity: How it works

Traditional proof-of-stake rewards validators for staking tokens and securing the network. The problem: validators have no incentive to contribute to on-chain economic activity. They stake, validate, and collect rewards — regardless of whether the chain has any real usage.

Proof-of-Liquidity changes this. Validator rewards flow through BGT, which is earned by providing liquidity. The more liquidity you provide (and the more useful your liquidity is to the ecosystem), the more BGT you earn. The more BGT you earn, the more influence you have over where emissions go.

This creates a feedback loop:

1. Liquidity providers earn BGT
2. BGT holders direct emissions to protocols
3. Protocols with more emissions attract more users
4. More users = more liquidity = more BGT earned

The result: chain security is aligned with on-chain economic activity, not just token hoarding.

What makes Berachain different from other EVM chains

Berachain is often compared to other DeFi-focused chains, but its approach is unique:

• Ethereum has the largest ecosystem but high fees and slow blocks. Berachain offers similar EVM compatibility with lower fees and faster finality, plus a novel incentive model.
• Avalanche uses a different consensus mechanism and has multiple chains. Berachain is a single chain with a unified DeFi focus.
• Arbitrum is an L2 with low fees but inherits Ethereum's incentive model. Berachain is an L1 with its own consensus and tokenomics designed for DeFi.
• Monad offers parallel execution for high throughput. Berachain focuses on DeFi incentives rather than raw performance.

From a developer perspective, Berachain's key advantage is that you can deploy existing Ethereum contracts without modification, but you're building on a chain where the incentive model is specifically designed for DeFi.

eth_getLogs and range caps

Like most high-throughput chains, Berachain imposes range caps on eth_getLogs to prevent abuse. If you're querying logs for a contract that emits a lot of events, you'll need to chunk your queries into smaller block ranges.

A safe default is 10,000 blocks per query. If you need to scan a wider range, loop through it in chunks:

const FROM_BLOCK = 25000000;
const TO_BLOCK = 26000000;
const CHUNK_SIZE = 10000;

for (let i = FROM_BLOCK; i < TO_BLOCK; i += CHUNK_SIZE) {
  const logs = await provider.getLogs({
    address: "0x...",
    fromBlock: i,
    toBlock: Math.min(i + CHUNK_SIZE - 1, TO_BLOCK),
  });
  // Process logs
}

Trace methods and archive access

Berachain's standard RPC does not support trace_block, trace_transaction, or debug_traceCall. These methods require an archive node with tracing enabled, which is a different (and more expensive) infrastructure setup.

If you need internal transactions, contract creation traces, or state diffs at a specific block, you'll need to use a dedicated archive provider or query the chain's block explorer API.

For most dApp use cases — reading balances, submitting transactions, querying logs — the standard RPC is sufficient.

The native DeFi ecosystem

Berachain launched with a suite of native DeFi protocols designed to work with the Proof-of-Liquidity model:

• BEX: The native DEX, where most liquidity provision happens
• Berps: Perpetual futures trading
• Bend: Lending and borrowing, plus HONEY minting

These protocols compete for BGT-directed emissions, creating a dynamic ecosystem where liquidity providers have real influence over where capital flows.

Third-party protocols have also deployed on Berachain, taking advantage of the EVM compatibility and the unique incentive model. Mainstream Ethereum protocols port over directly — no rewrites needed.

The short version

Berachain is a DeFi-focused EVM Layer 1 with Proof-of-Liquidity consensus and a tri-token model. Chain ID 80094, ~2 second blocks, ~2 second finality, gas fees typically under 1 gwei. Standard Ethereum JSON-RPC — if you've built on Ethereum, you already know how to query it. Uses BERA for gas, BGT for governance, HONEY as stablecoin.

For developers building DeFi applications, Berachain offers a unique incentive model where chain security is tied to liquidity provision, not just token staking. Your existing Solidity contracts work without modification, and the ecosystem is designed from the ground up for DeFi.

For reliable Berachain RPC access across load-balanced nodes, grab a free API key and point your app at:

https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/berachain?key=YOUR_API_KEY