Berachain – EVM-identical Layer 1 blockchain – has reached a new milestone this week.
Within 20 days of its Mainnet launch, Berachain has surpassed major blockchains such as SUI, Avalanche, and Arbitrum, in Total Value Locked (TVL), after hitting $3.27 billion before retreating mildly. Berachain secured the sixth position in DeFi TVL following the new feat before slipping the seventh spot right behind Base.
Berachain’s Rapid Growth And Expanding Ecosystem
The latest figure outpaced SUI’s $1.4 billion and AVAX’s $1.23 billion TVL. Despite most native protocols yet to launch – suggesting potential for further growth – Berachain currently holds a $700 million circulating market cap. It ranks among the top 100 on CoinMarketCap and is trading at $6.7 at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, DeFiLlama’s data revealed that Berachain topped other chains in terms of net bridge inflows over the past seven days.
According to market experts, this rapid ascent by Berachain presents an asymmetric bet with significant upside potential.
Berachain’s expansion has been fueled by major protocols. For instance, liquid staking platform Infrared Finance stands at the forefront, holding $1.52 billion in TVL. Decentralized exchange Kodiak followed closely with $1.1 billion, while yield farming protocol Concrete contributed nearly $1.11 billion in locked assets.
BERA Airdrop Controversy
The Bera Foundation distributed released BERA airdrops to community members after the successful launch of the Proof-of-Liquidity Layer 1 network on February 6. This was heralded as one of the biggest airdrops ever in the industry, covering 15.75% of its 500 million token supply. But the airdrop sparked community backlash over perceived unfair allocations.
Despite long-term engagement, the testnet users received just 1.65%, while Bong Bears NFT holders got 6.9%, which prompted criticism on social platforms. The Berachain Foundation defended the distribution and cited targeting challenges.
Berachain emerged as one of the most talked-about crypto projects at Token 2049. In April, it raised $100 million in a Series B round co-led by Brevan Howard Digital’s Abu Dhabi branch and Framework Ventures. The fund also witnessed backing from Polychain Capital, Hack VC, and Tribe Capital. In a statement to Bloomberg, Berachain co-founder “Smokey The Bera” had said,
“We see this raise as a major validation of our approach to building a blockchain that’s built on feedback from real users and developers, and driving value to those groups who are actually contributing to the network’s growth.”
The company said the new funding would strengthen its presence in Hong Kong, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
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