Infrared Finance, a liquid staking protocol in the Berachain ecosystem, successfully raised funds from Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. This funding was confirmed by Infrared’s CEO, known by the pseudonym Raito Bear, through a private token round. This investment marks Binance Labs’ first step into the Berachain ecosystem, highlighting its strategic interest in the emerging platform.
Funding Amount Not Disclosed
Earlier this month, Binance Labs participated as the sole investor in this strategic funding round structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT). This funding method is a common practice in the crypto industry, allowing investors to purchase rights to future tokens once they are issued.
Previously, Infrared had raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round using the SAFT model from various venture capital firms, including NGC Ventures, Tribe Capital, Shima Capital, and Signum Capital. Despite these significant funding rounds, Bear has not disclosed the total amount raised to date or the current valuation of the company.
2 Main Tokens
Infrared was established last year as part of the Berachain Foundation’s “Build-A-Bera” program, aimed at encouraging early-stage projects within the Berachain ecosystem. Berachain itself is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible Layer 1 Blockchain that has not yet launched its mainnet. The blockchain has already attracted significant interest and investment, raising $112 million from prominent investors like Brevan Howard, Polychain Capital, and Framework Ventures.
Infrared’s primary focus is to develop liquid staking tokens for Berachain’s two main tokens. These tokens are named BGT (governance token) and BERA (gas token). The liquid staking tokens, referred to as iBGT and iBERA, are designed to enhance the functionality and liquidity of Berachain’s native tokens.
Currently, Infrared has no direct competitors, but Raito Bear welcomes future competition as it will foster innovation and support a healthy market environment. The protocol is still in development and is expected to be available on the Berachain V2 testnet shortly. This phase will allow the team to gather user feedback and make necessary improvements before the mainnet launch.
